This competition-winning design crosses the Baakenhafen at Hafencity, a groundbreaking redevelopment of the former docks area of Hamburg. At 157 hectares, Hafencity is Europe’s largest inner-city development and has been designed to embrace the highest standards of sustainability, an ambition which is also reflected in the bridge design.

The bridge is conceived as a deceptively simple fluid form, spanning the dock as a legible component of the planned new Lohsepark landscape corridor. It is a functional connection providing efficient traffic, cycle and pedestrian routes and an additional leisure amenity for pedestrians. 

The design is a straightforward and pragmatic engineering response to the site constraints and performance requirements. The lines of the structure dictate the form and function of the pedestrian zones of the bridge.

A specific requirement of the brief was for a 30m-long lift-out section that can be removed to allow taller ships to pass through. The width of the structure increases at the south-east and north-west ends of the bridge to accommodate bespoke seating, thereby enhancing the public realm and providing vantage points for users to interact with water activities taking place on the canal below.