With a minimal intervention, visiondivision proposes to create a pedestrian walkway on the concrete vault of a bridge in Stockholm to dramatically shorten the time needed to walk between the city and its western suburbs and thereby also activating a large unused space in the city, making it an attractive place full of new potential.
From the Architects:
Stockholm’s many islands has created a beautiful city to live in but it has also created barriers between the inner city and the suburbs. Large scale bridges connects many of these places to each other, often built with the car in mind.
Tranebergsbron is one of the most beautiful bridges in Stockholm and connects the city island Kungsholmen with the western suburbs. It was completed in 1934, at that time having the world’s largest bridge vaults in concrete.
In 2005 an identical bridge vault was added to the two original ones, allowing more cars on the bridge.
As many bridges that is predominantly built for cars, the construction begins to incline many hundreds of meters on land on both sides the shore, this means that if you want to walk over the bridge it will involve a strenuous 15 minute walk in a noisy environment considering that you will walk just next to a busy highway.
We propose to use the actual concrete vault of the recently built bridge to cater to the neglected pedestrian traffic between these two important areas in Stockholm and to dramatically shorten the time between the two shores and make the journey into a pleasant three minute walk in a beautiful and relaxed setting.
To do this, only a minimal intervention is required.
The concrete pillars that connects the vault with the surface of the bridge already has holes in them, so the only thing that is necessary to do is to extend the upper part of the vault to allow passage and to add stairs on to the vault, proper lighting and a protective fence. The ground before the arc begins could also be treated with red concrete tiles to highlight the new path better and make it more accessible.
The two shores would benefit tremendously from being better connected to each other and they are both major gateways that are currently undergoing a great expansion with new housing and services.
With the underworld of the bridge is suddenly being used, this would also mean that the beautiful space underneath the bridge will be better activated which leaves room for new functions and ideas. The impressive concrete pillars would be perfect to use as a temporary art gallery and the stairs on the vaults can have a double use as seating to watch film screenings on the pillars.
The two abutments would be attractive spots where small kiosks could be set up when weather permits.
Project: Under the Bridge
Designed by visiondivision
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Website: www.visiondivision.com
