News: a proposal by Rem Koolhaas' firm OMA for a bridge that could accommodate different types of traffic as well as pedestrians and events has been selected by local authorities in Bordeaux, France, as one of two final competing designs.

The proposed design aims to "rethink the civic function and symbolism of a twenty-first century bridge" by creating a platform traversing the river Garonne that could be used by cars, trams, buses, bicycles and pedestrians.

A wide boulevard with a gentle gradient would make the bridge easy to walk across and allow it to be used to host events.

OMA project leader Clement Blanchet said the studio wanted to "provide the simplest expression – the least technical, least lyrical, an almost primitive structural solution. This simplicity allowed us to create a generous platform for pedestrians and public programs, as well as flexibility in accommodating the future needs of various types of traffic."

Either OMA or French firm Dietmar Feichtinger will be awarded the project in December this year, with completion scheduled for 2018.

Yesterday, Thomas Heatherwick unveiled a design for a pedestrian bridge housing a garden to span the River Thames in London.

OMA is up against Danish firm BIG in a competition to redevelop the site of a convention centre in Miami.

In a movie filmed in Milan as part of our Dezeen and MINI World Tour, journalist Justin McGuirk described OMA's Tools for Life collection of furniture as a nostalgic statement about the decline of industry in the city.

See all stories about OMA »
See all stories about bridges »

Images copyright OMA unless otherwise stated.

Here's some more information from OMA:

OMA leads the final round for Pont Jean-Jacques Bosc international competition in Bordeaux

OMA's design for a new bridge across the river Garonne in Bordeaux has been selected as one of two final competing projects by the city authorities. OMA's stripped-down design for the Pont Jean-Jacques Bosc attempts to rethink the civic function and symbolism of a 21st century bridge.

Clement Blanchet, leading the project for OMA with Rem Koolhaas said: "The bridge itself is not the 'event' in the city, but a platform that can accommodate all the events of the city. We wanted to provide the simplest expression – the least technical, least lyrical, an almost primitive structural solution. This simplicity allowed us to create a generous platform for pedestrians and public programs, as well as flexibility in accommodating the future needs of various types of traffic."

Vincent Feltesse, president of Urban Community of Bordeaux made the decision with the deliberation of a jury of 40 people, announcing that the municipality wanted something "bold."

Beyond traditional fascinations with style and technical performance, OMA tried to design a 21st century bridge that exploits state-of-the-art techniques in order to create a contemporary boulevard. A platform 44 metres wide and 545 metres long is stretched beyond the water on either side, creating a seamless connection with the land. The bridge slopes gently, allowing an easy promenade while still giving necessary clearance for boats underneath. Each type of traffic – cars, RBD (tram/bus), bicycles – has its own lane, and is designed to meet changing vehicular needs. By far the largest strip is devoted to pedestrians.

The bridge is designed to cohere with the adjacent St. John Belcier urban redevelopment project. It also attempts to unify the different conditions of the two banks of the Garonne: from the Right Bank, strictly aligned on a poplar-lined meadow, to the urban landscape of the Left Bank, it aims solve the dual challenge of aura and performance in an environment steeped in history.

A final decision between designs by OMA and Dietmar Feichtinger will be made in December this year, with the bridge scheduled for completion in 2018.

The project is developed in collaboration with engineers WSP, the landscape architect Michel Desvigne, as well as the consultant EGIS and light design agency Lumières Studio.

The post OMA proposes bridge with pedestrian
boulevard for Bordeaux appeared first on Dezeen.

The design was developed by Heatherwick Studio after Transport for London awarded it a tender to develop ideas for improving pedestrian links across the river.

Images show two fluted piers supporting a walkway planted with trees, grasses and flowers, offering views of the surrounding city.

"With its rich heritage of allotments, gardens, heathland, parks and squares, London is one of the greenest cities in the world," says Thomas Heatherwick. "In this context we are excited to have been selected by TFL to explore the opportunity of a pedestrian river crossing. The idea is simple; to connect north and south London with a garden."

The structure is proposed for a site between the existing Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges, and will cost £60 million, which Heatherwick will be required to raise from private investors.

Isabel Dedring, London's deputy mayor for transport told the Evening Standard that "The mayor has been keen to find an iconic piece of green infrastructure that can symbolise London as a high quality of life place to live," adding "but if private sector funding isn’t forthcoming then the project isn’t going to be able to go ahead."

This would be the first new bridge built on the river since the Millennium Bridge by Foster + Partners, which originally opened in 2000 but was closed due to safety concerns and reopened in 2002.

Heatherwick Studio says it has been working on the idea with actor and campaigner Joanna Lumley, who adds: "It's quite strange to talk of something that doesn't exist yet, but the Garden Bridge is already vivid in the plans and the imagination. This garden will be sensational in every way: a place with no noise or traffic where the only sounds will be birdsong and bees buzzing and the wind in the trees, and below the steady rush of water."

"It will be the slowest way to cross the river, as people will dawdle and lean on parapets and stare at the great cityscapes all around; but it will also be a safe and swift way for the weary commuter to make his way back over the Thames," says Lumley.

"There will be grasses, trees, wild flowers, and plants, unique to London's natural riverside habitat. And there will be blossom in the spring and even a Christmas tree in mid-winter. I believe it will bring to Londoners and visitors alike peace and beauty and magic."

Thomas Heatherwick designed the cauldron for the London 2012 Olympics and told us that its lighting was conceived as a religious ceremony.

Heatherwick's design for a new bus took to the streets of London last year, and he has also recently designed a distillery and visitor centre for gin brand Bombay Sapphire - see all design by Thomas Heatherwick.

Yesterday the winners were announced in a competition to develop a new green space linking sites on London's Southbank, which aims to rival the popular High Line park in New York - see all stories about parks and gardens.

We've also recently reported on a series of bridges in the Netherlands that were copied from the fictions structures depicted on banknotes - see all stories about bridge design.

Visualisations are by Heatherwick Studio.

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bridge designed for River Thames appeared first on Dezeen.

News: the fictional bridges depicted on Euro banknotes have been been transformed into reality at a new housing development near Rotterdam.

Dutch designer Robin Stam was inspired by the seven images of archetypal bridges originally created by Austrian designer Robert Kalina to represent key phases in Europe's cultural history.

The illustrations on the banknotes show generic examples of architectural styles such as renaissance and baroque rather than real bridges from a particular member state, which could have aroused envy among other countries. "The European Bank didn't want to use real bridges so I thought it would be funny to claim the bridges and make them real," Stam told Dezeen.

The local council responsible for constructing a new housing development in Spijkenisse, a suburb of Rotterdam, heard about the idea and approached Stam about using his designs.

"My bridges were slightly more expensive but [the council] saw it as a good promotional opportunity so they allocated some extra budget to produce them," says Stam.

The bridges are exact copies of those shown on the banknotes, down to the shape, crop and colour.

"I wanted to give the bridges an exaggerated theatrical appearance – like a stage set," adds Stam, who poured dyed concrete into custom-made wooden moulds to make them.

All seven bridges surrounding the development have been completed and are being used by cyclists and pedestrians. Stam says they have divided opinion among residents: "Some people's initial impression is that the bridges are ugly but when they find out the story behind them they find it really funny."

In his recent Opinion column, Sam Jacob talks about the made-up landmarks on Euro notes as he ponders the historic and cultural symbolism of money.

The latest Dezeen stories about bridges include a heated pedestrian bridge in Sweden and Zaha Hadid's Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi.

See more bridge designs »
See all our stories about design and money »

Here are some more details from the designer:

On the first of January 2002 new banknotes were introduced in Europe. In addition to windows and gateways, these seven banknotes also depict several bridges. Each bridge has an individual appearance, all of which can be recognised as having originated throughout certain periods in European cultural history: Classical Antiquity, the Roman period, the Gothic period, the Renaissance, Baroque and Rococo, Iron- and glass architecture and lastly contemporary, twentieth century architecture.

Designed by Robert Kalina, the bridges are meant to illustrate the tight collaboration and communication between Europe and the rest of the world in general, but more importantly, amongst the European countries in particular. However, the bridges portrayed in the banknotes are fictional.

They have been designed to prevent one single member state from having a bridge on their banknote opposed to other states not having any depicted in theirs. In other words, “member state neutral” banknotes.

Now wouldn’t it be amazing if these fictional bridges suddenly turn out to actually exist in real life? And wouldn’t it be even more amazing if these bridges were to be built in a new housing project in the former centre of urban development and suburb, Spijkenisse.

The post Fictional bridges on Euro banknotes
constructed in Rotterdam appeared first on Dezeen.

The 842-metre-long bridge connects Abu Dhabi Island with the mainland and comprises a sequence of concrete waves that curve up and down from the water to reach a height of 64 metres. A four-lane highway runs across and the two road decks are cantilevered from the sides of the structure.

Zaha Hadid Architects completed the project in 2010 - read more in our earlier story.

See more photography by Hufton + Crow on Dezeen, or on the photographers' website.

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photographed by Hufton + Crow appeared first on Dezeen.

Bridges typically ice up faster than roads and pavements because they have more exposed surfaces, so Erik Andersson Architects solved the problem by circulating warm air through the structure.

The bridge is like a hollow beam with hot air inside it, explained Erik Andersson. "As we only wanted to heat the walkway, we used insulation to direct the heat to the right place," he told Dezeen.

"We wanted a slim bridge and the conventional heating alternatives would have made the bridge too fat."

Located in Norrköping, approximately 100 miles south-west of Stockholm, Tullhus Bridge provides a route between the new residential area of Strömsholmen and the north quay in the city centre.

The steel walkway spans just over 70 metres and has an hourglass body that tapers towards the middle, while LED bulbs have been fitted under the handrails to illuminate the bridge at night.

We recently featured a looping bridge in Sarajevo and a bridge held up by helium balloons in a historic estate in England – see all bridges.

Photographs are by Åke E:son Lindman.

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opens in Sweden appeared first on Dezeen.