Margaretengürtel Bridge

Wien
Margaretengürtel Bridge

bridge construction, structural engineering  Services

Knippers Helbig / Knight Architects  Architect

390-meter-long pedestrian bridge made of free formed, block-laminated glulam beams

Project

Winner of a 2010 international design competition, the 390 m-long bridge at Margaretengürtel in Vienna was planned to link two urban parkland area to provide a pedestrian route across a busy traffic corridor. The linear form of the bridge design evolved from the landscape at each end and its massive minimalism stands in counterpoint to the rich architectural language of the neighbourhood, including the historic Margaretengürtel Station building by Otto Wagner.

Semi-Integral block-laminated glulam construction on massive sculptural reinforced concrete supports

Bridge Design
The design of the structure uses a glulam core of Spruce ‘lamella’ and a Larch outer layer to provide durability and good protection against moisture. The bending radii of the glulam layers are achieved using standard production techniques. The robust construction method is combined with the concept of a semi-integral bridge to reduce maintenance costs. It is estimated the superstructure would contain approximately 795 t of stored CO₂ within the 960 m³ of wood and would use a fraction of the energy in construction of a concrete or steel bridge of the same span.

Project data

Client Stadt Wien

Architect Knippers Helbig / Knight Architects

Finalization Competition and preliminary design

Services bridge construction, structural engineering