New Development in Copenhagen, Denmark

WINNER ANNOUNCED Studio Bednarski and Flint & Neill win their 5th joint International Bridge Competition New Opening Pedestrian and Cyclist Bridge over COPENHAGEN INNER HARBOUR (Inderhavnen) Copenhagen Bridge Competition It has just been announced in Copenhagen that London based STUDIO BEDNARSKI and FLINT & NEILL (bridge engineers), working with New York based HARDESTY & HANOVER (mechanical engineers), and SPEIRS and MAJOR (lighting designers), have won an invited two stage high profile competition involving an opening bridge, to which 10 design teams were invited from a worldwide expression of interest. The bridge’s opening span is 50m, and the total length 180m, its decks are 7m wide. The bridge is the key component of a scheme, which also involves three further small bridges over canals. The winning bridge has the lowest profile combined with transparency. The opening part utilises a unique sliding mechanism. Besides its low profile and minimal obstruction to views along and across the harbour, the bridge’s main attraction is that people can stand on viewing platforms right at the edge of the navigation channel, even when the bridge is open. Thus it is possible to watch the bridge movement action and be literally within an arm’s reach of the passing ships and boats - a unique experience on an opening bridge. While the curved profile of the cantilevered moving sections was not intended as a figurative representation, the smooth under-bellies are reminiscent of boat undersides. These two sculptural objects can be treated in a variety of ways – they could be brightly coloured and bring light-hearted fun to the port, or be mirror polished, like Anish Kapoor’s sculptures, and reflect light off the water surface without causing any direct glare from the sun. The bridge creates new urban spaces both at the quays and on the water. At the quays new landscaped spaces are framed by wide steps leading onto the bridge, where to sit and watch performers or the life go by. On the Nyhavn side a new urban waterfront piazza is framed by a new harbour park. On the Grønlandske Handels Plads the bridge lightly touches the ground with access steps framing a piazza in front of the proposed new North Atlantic Foundation Building. In plan, the bridge is slightly sinuous. This maximises the length of the ramps, allowing them to be kept at 4%, and lessening their intrusion onto the harbour sides. It also adds interest to the composition and the experience of crossing the bridge. The plan curvature is constant but mirrored at the centre. Cezary Bednarski says: “We have deliberately avoided high structural elements, which would interrupt views across and along the harbour, both when the bridge is closed and when it is open. Views of the new Opera House from Knippelsbro, for example, would not be disrupted by our design.” “This is our 10th bridge competition victory, and Ian Firth and I won all 5 bridge competitions that we jointly entered” The Other Invited Teams Zaha Hadid Architects Ltd, London Buro Happold Ltd, London Lundgaard & Tranberg Arkitekter A/S Ove Arup & Partners, Danmark A/S Alectia A/S Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner, Beratende Ingenieure VBI, GmbH, Stuttgart Georg K.S. Rotne, arkitekt MAA, København ES-Consult A/S, Hørsholm Grontmij | Carl Bro a/s, Glostrup Schlaich Bergermann und Partner GmbH, Berlin gmp, von Gerkan Marg und Partner Architects and Engineers GmbH, Berlin ISC Rådgivende Ingeniører A/S Bystrup Arkitekter MAA MDD DISSING+WEITLING arkitektfirma a/s COWI a/s POLYFORM arkitekter ApS ULRIKE BRANDI LICHT DFA Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes PARIS WIEN WTM International ENGINEERS HENNING LARSEN ARCHITECTS Ove Arup & Partners International Ltd., London Speirs & Major Associates Rambøll 3XN A/S Selection of Jury Comments “In this entry, urban architecture aspects are rooted in the historical qualities of Copenhagen (…) Taking its starting point from the Nordic traditions, the entrant sought inspiration in the opportunity to optimise functionality and create a new public space rather than letting the bridge be an exponent of an extravagant staged structural form” “The suggested incorporation of the bridges in the urban architecture is of very high quality.(…) The chain motive used in the overall plan keeps the movement together and creates attractive relationships between the bridges” “In an exemplary manner, the entry takes its inspiration from the desire to subjugate the bridges to the movements of the city and the urban landscape and then giving the bridge over Inderhavnen a clear identity generated by its functionality” “The bridge features a compelling overall concept and an attractive design that will help to form the identity of the site in the future” “The telescopic design is extremely well thought out and a surprising proposal for a new bridge that will be a constant feature of the harbour space” Client : Københavns Kommune (Copenhagen City Council) The bridge is financed by the AP Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation, which also funded the new Copenhagen Opera House. A.P. Møller - Mærsk Group employs about 117,000 people in around 130 countries and operates more than 550 container vessels. The Group’s activities are organised into the following main business segments: container shipping and related activities, APM Terminals, tankers, offshore and other shipping activities, oil and gas activities, retail acivity, shipyards and other industrial companies, interest in Danske Bank, etc Copenhagen Bridge Competition images / information from Studio Bednarski

picture : Tim Soar