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Architects: Ramboll
- Area: 800 m²
- Year: 2021
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Photographs:Fredrik Rege
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Manufacturers: Alucrom, Diwydag, GVA, Hide-a-lite, Lumenpulse, Redaelli, Spennteknik, Swerock
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Lead Architect: Stephen James
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Lighting Design: Luxera Design, Eric Eliasson
Text description provided by the architects. The City of Helsingborg in Sweden is in the process of realising ambitious plans to develop vibrant new neighbourhoods and revitalise its urban fabric. These plans required a new bridge to unlock the potential of the old dockyards and facilitate the future success of a vibrant new ‘urban archipelago’ to be called Oceanhamnen. In 2014, following a pre-qualification process, three international consultant teams were invited to submit design bids in parallel.
Ramboll Sweden, with the UK Architect Stephen James, was ultimately successful with an inventive hybrid bridge proposal that shares characteristics with both suspension and cable-stayed structures. The bridge follows a gently inclined, sinuous path, curved to an S-shape in the plan, with two outwardly inclined pylons from which the bridge deck is suspended dramatically above the water. This curved alignment effectively resolves the skewed axes of the site and satisfies the brief’s complex requirements with a form that feels both instinctive and natural.
The deck is supported at its mid-span, over the water, by three cables hung from two oppositely inclined pylons which provide the main focal points for the bridge. However, rather than simply connect to the deck edge, as is usual with a cable-stayed arrangement, these cables swoop beneath the deck to cradle it from below and emerge on the other side, rising to the opposing pylon in a dynamic and bold expression of the cable-supported bridge form. Four further cables, two at each mast, stabilise the bridge and anchor the masts to the ground.
Each inclined pylon rises 23m above the deck and is formed from an extruded ‘teardrop’ steel box section, tapering as it rises toward a light beacon at its pinnacle. The three primary cables are 70m dia locked coil cables, connected within, and emerging from, the pylons at high level. The bridge deck itself is a trapezoidal steel box section, fabricated from painted steel, and stiffened both longitudinally and transversely. The parapet is a bespoke stainless steel system of V-supports, widely spaced along each edge, with a woven mesh of stainless steel, following the curve of the deck, providing the infill.
The new bridge is much more than a simple route, it both helps to shape public space and has proved to be a popular destination itself with areas designed to promote positive interaction between users. At each pylon, the deck branches outward to create two complementary cantilevered spaces: one, a remarkable viewpoint over the busy ferry channel to the north, the second offshoot forms a ramp touching down lightly on the new park to the south.
Situated in an area of a great industrial heritage site, the bridge has become a focus for the regeneration of Oceanpiren and Helsingborg in general. Users have responded enthusiastically to the new bridge which epitomises new confidence in engineering that is flowing from inclusive design and fast-developing technologies.
