Dutch + Latvian team to design Estonia's first movable pedestrian bridge in Tallinn
By Justine Testado|
Tuesday, Jul 18, 2017
A team comprising Witteveen+Bos, plein06 and Novarc Group recently won a global competition to design Estonia's first movable pedestrian bridge in the old harbor of the Tallinn capital. Their winning scheme, “New Balance 100” — whose name pays tribute to the country's ongoing centennial celebration — was chosen for its aesthetic form and technical balancing solutions. According to the team, the bridge is currently scheduled for completion in late 2018.
The designers shared more details about their winning proposal below.
“The presented bridge design was chosen because of the combination between a highly aesthetical form and innovative technical balancing solutions. The water reflects the skyline of Tallinn’s city centre, which is captured by the symmetrical bridge sections. When opening its arms, it creates an iconic view in which the bridge embraces residents and passengers. The bridge thus offers interesting views both in open as well as closed state.”
“The functional aspect of the bridge has become a spectacle of unique and innovative engineering. Especially noteworthy are the movable contra weights which are integrated in the design, but are also visible to the public. The bridge makes a smooth, wavy motion over the quayside when it opens and closes, in which the eye is not only focussed on her rolling movement, but also on the moving weights in her body parts. These weights move down when the bridge is slightly opening up and their counterweight shortens the moment of force. This technique allows for the bridge to keep itself balanced at all times, hence New Balance 100.”
“New Balance 100 is the country’s first dynamic, movable bridge and thus a constructive and cultural choice of Estonia. The aesthetic and innovative solutions make the New Balance 100 a celebrated object in public space both in appearance and function. It is a perfect symbol to celebrate Estonia’s centenary next year.”
Find more project diagrams in the gallery below.
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1 Comment
Donna Sink · Jul 25, 17 3:51 PM
This is very lovely. It reminds me a bit of the Falkirk Wheel, in that it almost seems to large to work yet will do so beautifully.
That said, this statement makes me uncomfortable: The bridge makes a smooth, wavy motion over the quayside when it opens and closes, in which the eye is not only focused on her rolling movement, but also on the moving weights in her body parts.
Also, when I read the headline I thought "movable" meant it could be relocated, which could be cool: if a City had several relocatable pedestrian bridges they could be deployed during different events where lots of pedestrian movement would be happening for limited times. In my city that would be during football games, for example.
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