Pedestrian Bridge: The Latest Architecture and News

The Simone Veil Bridge, designed by OMA / Rem Koolhaas and Chris van Duijn, has officially opened in Bordeaux, France. Serving as the sixth crossing over the River Garonne, the platform stretches 548 meters from either side, with a width of 44 meters. Connecting the municipalities of Floirac and Bègles and offering Bordeaux a new public space, it has been in the making for nearly a decade, and is the first bridge project in OMA’s portfolio.

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WilkinsonEyre has just been selected to design the new Equinox Bridge in Toronto, Canada. Designed in collaboration with Zeidler Architecture, Two Row Architect, and Arup, this bridge will connect the central waterfront to Villiers Island and the expanded park system along the new mouth of the Don River. Selected through a competition commissioned by Waterfront Toronto and the City of Toronto, the bridge seeks to foster a connection between people and water.

Foster + Partners has just unveiled the designs for the Xicen Science & Technology Center at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta Region in Shanghai, China. The project is strategically located along the Shanghai – Huzhou development axis, ensuring connectivity to the city center through high-speed rail links. Drawing inspiration from the timeless allure of the surrounding water towns, the center blends new and existing waterways to create a community featuring residential, commercial, and recreational spaces.

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In a city, celebrating the act of walking has become a form of non-traditional planning. In the age of cars, challenging the dominance of vehicular transportation by championing the pedestrian experience is not very common. For this reason, pedestrian bridges worldwide stand as symbols of connectivity and architectural ingenuity. These soaring structures embody the urban experience for its core user: the pedestrian. Although the structures began as practical solutions to traffic management, they have evolved into iconic landmarks and pivotal components of city planning.

The significance of these projects represents a shift towards human-centric design in urban landscapes. The Kusugibashi Bridge in Japan, rebuilt by Kengo Kuma & Associates symbolizes resilience, while the Hangzhou Riverfront Public Space’s Silk Bridge showcases urban connectivity through revitalizing the waterfront. The Donnguan Central Area Slow-Traffic Bridge addresses connectivity and greenery, and SBE NV’s Vlasburg Bridge dedicates itself to enhanced water routes for the community. Collectively, these bridges drive urban revitalization into the future, emphasizing sustainability and integrating with community needs.

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In midtown Manhattan, the street crossings surrounding the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel were once some of the most challenging in the city. A mess of highway ramps, missing sidewalks, and concrete barriers made the corner of Dyer Avenue and 30th Street an area to avoid.

Now with a new $50 million elevated connector, pedestrians can safely move 30 feet above the intersections using a 600-foot-long L-shaped bridge from the High Line to Moynihan Train Hall.

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Sumayya Vally, renowned architect and Principal of the Johannesburg/London-based studio Counterspace, won the competition to design the new Asiat-Darse pedestrian bridge in Vilvoorde, Belgium. Counterspace's design concept delved into the history and impact of Paul Panda Farnana, a significant yet under-appreciated figure in the city, who studied the intricate connections between past and future generations of migrant individuals and communities. "The studio has been praised for its research-led approach, which led to the discovery of Farnana and his work, and for shedding light on an otherwise overlooked, vital part of the city’s history". Construction on the Asiat-Darse pedestrian bridge is set to commence in April 2024, with an estimated completion date of December 2025.

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National Museums Liverpool (NML) has revealed a revised version of the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront, led by architect Asif Khan and artist Theaster Gates. The plans include the redesign of the public spaces at Canning Dock, a historical area central to the Liverpool docks. As part of the Waterfront Transformation Project, the interventions aim to create accessible public spaces to better serve the community and to create a link between the surrounding museums. The preliminary proposal is now open for public consultation.

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Fred Kent, the founder of the nonprofit organization Project for Public Spaces, once stated that “If you plan cities for cars and traffic, you get cars and traffic. If you plan for people and places, you get people and places." It may sound obvious, nevertheless, our cities today are indeed undergoing a rapid transformation from a car-oriented society to a pedestrian-friendly community.

Dutch architectural office VenhoevenCS with its French partner Ateliers 2/3/4/ have won the competition to design the Aquatics Centre for the Olympics Games of 2024 in Paris. The innovative sports center, connected by a new pedestrian bridge to the existing “Stade de France”, will host competitions for water polo, diving, and synchronized swimming. It will also be transformed into a Boccia stadium during the Paralympics. Designed for multifunctional use, the only building to be built for the Games, will remain for the people in Saint-Denis, after the event.

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100architects has designed a proposal that regenerates the Puji Road pedestrian bridge in Shanghai, China. Entitled High Loop, the proposal reimagines the 1-kilometer elevated platform, adding playfulness and color to the city, without transforming the structure.

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Nearly a year after opening its "Xiamen Bicycle Skyway," DISSING+WEITLING Architecture has won another major infrastructure project in the Chinese city. The winning design, "Xiamen Footpaths," is set to be a 21-kilometer network of paths and bridges creating a large-scale network connecting the surrounding nature and the budding metropolis of Xiamen.

Much like DISSING+WEITLING's "Bicycle Snake" did for bicycles in Copenhagen, the "Xiamen Footpaths" will improve the traveling conditions and city experience for pedestrians in the bustling city of Xiamen.

Preliminary Research Office has recently been selected to design a pedestrian bridge in Shenzhen, connecting the two tower buildings, each 210 meters (689 feet) high, which will serve as their client’s future headquarters.

The bridge’s formal composition is the result of two intersecting conic masses, positioned about their common axis and directed towards the towers’ core. Perpendicular cones are split by these larger cones at two points on the bridge’s axis, extending to form observation platforms for flying and viewing drones, while also serving as meeting spaces.

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3^rd Skin Architects has released the plans for the Haghani Pedestrian Bridge, which will connect the residential zone of Mirdamad, Tehran, to Abbas Abad over the Haghani Highway in Iran.