Himlavalvet, a bridge to touch the sky and merge with nature, by Entropic
21/02/2022.
[Ängelholm] Sweden
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
metalocus, CARLOS GONZÁLEZ
Architecture firm based in Barcelona, Entropic, have been selected from 44 contestants as the winner for the new bridge over Ängelholm's river, South Sweden.
Called "Himlavalvet", translating to the Swedish phrase ”heavens Vault”, the new bridge (whose program is road bridge including pedestrians and cyclists) features a single diagonal spanning arch made from a hybrid of corten steel and wood construction.
Called "Himlavalvet", translating to the Swedish phrase ”heavens Vault”, the new bridge (whose program is road bridge including pedestrians and cyclists) features a single diagonal spanning arch made from a hybrid of corten steel and wood construction.
Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic. Visualization by PLAY-TIME
Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic. Visualization by PLAY-TIME
Strategy. Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic.
Axonometric. Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic.
Materialization. Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic.
Elevation. Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic.
Site context. Himlavalvet, bridge over the Ängelholm river by Entropic.
Entropic collaborated with engineers Degree of Freedom in the second phase of the competition, to make this concept into reality. The bridge will allow people to climb a structural staircase maximizing the views through the landscape, getting views above the tree canopies to see the incredible landscape and connect with the sky above to be one with the surrounding natural environment.
"The singular primary structural arch, provides the least visual complexity whilst functioning as a clear iconic gesture and nostalgic reference to the old railway bridge Pyttebron", said Entropic and adds, "the bridge´s Corten structure and wooden pedestrian flooring are a direct reference to today’s much-loved bridge, celebrating the old whilst proposing a new and exciting future for Ängelholm."
"The singular primary structural arch, provides the least visual complexity whilst functioning as a clear iconic gesture and nostalgic reference to the old railway bridge Pyttebron", said Entropic and adds, "the bridge´s Corten structure and wooden pedestrian flooring are a direct reference to today’s much-loved bridge, celebrating the old whilst proposing a new and exciting future for Ängelholm."
Project description by Entropic
Entropic has won the competition for a new road bridge in Ängelholm, Sweden. Himlavalvet, translating to the Swedish phrase ”heavens Vault”, the bridge will allow people to climb a structural staircase and connect with the sky above to be one with the surrounding natural environment.
Today, cities and towns are shifting towards providing greater diversity in how we can interact with the city, to encourage people to be active and outdoors. Himlavalvet will combine a recreational viewing point with Ängelholms infrastructural needs. People will be able to climb the new bridge and enjoy views over the landscape, a space to play, meet and relax! The bridge will become not only a vital new connection for Ängelholm, but also an exciting new destination attracting locals and tourists alike. In August spectators will cheer standing on the bridge’s arch as the boat parade passes through the river!
The singular primary structural arch, provides the least visual complexity whilst functioning as a clear iconic gesture and nostalgic reference to the old railway bridge Pyttebron. The bridge´s Corten structure and wooden pedestrian flooring are a direct reference to today’s much-loved bridge, celebrating the old whilst proposing a new and exciting future for Ängelholm. The structural expression is expressed and celebrated and combined with the walkable structure gives the project a unique human scale, vital for such a critical urban node. The bridge creates the maximum opening available underneath the bridge to give greater views and minimize its presence in the natural surroundings.
At night the lighting will illuminate only the structure, avoiding the water so as not to disturb the local wildlife. Light will be used strategically, lighting the main arch, from beneath creating a soft gradient with height whilst shaper and smaller lights will express the tension cables. Finally, thin strip lighting will softly illuminate the pedestrian handrails for safety and comfort at night. Each lighting system is carefully chosen to complement one another, celebrating the bridge’s unique identity.
Technical Description
Load Conditions
The bridge is a bow-string type bridge, consisting of an arch whose horizontal forces at the ends counteract each other thanks to the connection to the deck, which acts as a tensioned tie. This bridge system has the great advantage that it does not produce horizontal reactions for gravitational loads, which makes it self-standing and allows to use a smaller foundation.
The arch is designed with a stiff trapezoidal box section that supports the cables, which are arranged so that each side of the deck is connected to one of the halves of the arch. This creates a beautiful changing cable pattern, but also adds transversal forces to the arch.
The suspended deck consists of the main transversal girders, hanging from the cables and supporting the stress laminated timber deck. Two longitudinal beams add stability to avoid differential movements of the main girders.
All the connection points of the cables to the beams at the edge of the deck are linked through an edge pipe to the bracing system of the deck, which consists of an additional system of prestressed bars that stiffens the horizontal plane of the deck to provide strength against transversal forces and distortion.
Foundation
The foundation of the bridge consists of driven concrete piles, mostly concentrated on the side of the abutment where the arch is bearing. Thanks to the bow-string system, the loads are mainly vertical, but additional inclined piles are also provided to resist horizontal loads due to wind, seism or braking.
The bridge is supported on two pot bearings at each abutment, one under the arch, and one in the opposite corner. They are separated as far as possible to maximize the lever arm and avoid uplift forces in the bearings. Therefore, a light foundation can be achieved, in order to maximize the distance to the neighboring building, not affecting its foundation, and allowing an easy construction process around the abutments.
The existing foundations of the actual bridge will be removed, recovering the original topography and landscaping of the riverbed, thus reducing the impact of the building in the environment thanks to the increased bridge span that stands on the top of the embankments.
Steel, Wood and Aluminum Constructions
The main skeleton of the bridge is made in weathering steel (corten steel), which is a steel alloy developed to form a stable rust-like appearance that eliminates the need for painting thanks to the increased resistance to atmospheric corrosion provided by the self-regenerating protection layer in the surface.
The steel main structure of the bridge consists of the arch, and the tie, formed by a box girder that runs diagonally below the deck. The tie connects both ends of the arch so that the horizontal forces balance each other, and the system is closed, as an object that can be transported.
The supporting structure of the deck is formed by a framing of beams in both directions, where the transversal ones are suspended with cables from the arch. This steel framework is designed to have the minimum depth, but at the same time being able to host the main tie, the prestressed rod bracing and the services below the deck.
The deck is formed by a stress laminated timber deck, a light and sustainable structural plate consisting of attached glulam beams that form a continuous surface able to withstand traffic loads. It is prestressed with the aid of prestressing bars running through all the deck from side to side that make the different beams work as a single structural system. A reference for this kind of structure is found in the 56 m long SLT deck bridge in Halmstad built by Moelven.
Concrete Structures
The only concrete structures of the bridge are the abutments and their foundation. They are in contact to the ground, so this material is the most appropriated one for this issue. Concrete has high endurance and low maintenance requirements, so it will last all the service life of the bridge without maintenance operations.
More information
Architects
Entropic. Architects.- Geoffrey Eberle, Magdalena Mroz.
Collaborators
Engineers.- Degree of Freedom: Gaute Mo, Fernando Ibáñez, Diego Velayos.
Client
Ängelholms kommune.
Dimensions
80m long.
Dates
2022.
Location
Ängelholm, Sweden.
Renderings
Magdalena Mróz, Geoffrey Eberle. Entropic
Entropic is architecture firm based in Barcelona, Spain, estableshed by Geoffrey Eberle and Magdalena Mróz archtiects. Entropic is committed towards re-imaging the built environment, in urbanism and architecture with a focus towards liability, contemporary challenges, and architectural innovation. Their multi-disciplinary team consists of Architects, Urbanists and Engineers. Their Barcelona Studio works with both the local and global market, with experience largely in North Europe, South Europe, and the Middle East.
Magdalena Mróz is a Polish born Architect, and co-founder of Entropic. Magda has led numerous projects in a range of scales, from small interventions, through high-rise to city planning, in architecture companies, Bjarke Ingels Group and Barcode Architects, for over 5 years. With a MSc, an engineering degree, in Architecture and Urban Design in Cracow University of Technology and education in Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Jagiellonian University, Magdalena's work follows contextual and inclusive design.
Studying and living in places like Cracow, Barcelona and Copenhagen influenced her focus on the human scale, with an analytical approach towards socio-cultural context. Through her years of experience, Magdalena has found, that intelligently designed interventions, regardless of scale, when strategically utilized can have a radical impact on the way we interact and experience our environment. Often driving her philosophical output, are nature-based solutions, perceiving nature as an ultimate technology which has the power to adapt, optimize and sustain in any given scenario. Learning from how our digital world too has born new paradigms in user interface, Magda takes a large part of her inspiration, to influence how she designs real life objects. Her drive is towards projects which create a natural sense of intuition, which stimulate playful response, and which encourage a joyful interaction. In essence, Magda seeks to create projects which humans innately love.
Geoffrey Eberle is a British born Architect and Co-founder of Entropic. Since 2013 he has worked in Copenhagen, Barcelona and the UK on a range of ambitious global projects on both the urban, architectural and landscape scale. He led a number of high profile projects in Bjarke Ingels Group for over 5 years, and founded the Rotterdam based, Studio Bold, winning a number of projects in the international market. His approach towards architecture has largely been influenced in the fields of urbanism and robotic fabrication in his education from both the UK and Netherlands, with a prerogative to solving contemporary issues ranging from environmentalism, urban quality and architectural innovation. Geoffrey’s focus is towards the opportunities unlocked through technology and innovation..
Geoffrey fundamentally believes that our lived experiences derive largely from our environment, both in how we operate as individuals, but also in what gives our lives value. In this conception, the role of architects is to reimagine the world in the closest approximation, to our social values, to our individual desires and to the relationship with our natural world. This requires a constant re-evaluation off the presuppositions our world is built upon, and benchmarking against the emergent contemporary social challenges our world faces.
Magdalena Mróz is a Polish born Architect, and co-founder of Entropic. Magda has led numerous projects in a range of scales, from small interventions, through high-rise to city planning, in architecture companies, Bjarke Ingels Group and Barcode Architects, for over 5 years. With a MSc, an engineering degree, in Architecture and Urban Design in Cracow University of Technology and education in Preservation of Cultural Heritage in the Jagiellonian University, Magdalena's work follows contextual and inclusive design.
Studying and living in places like Cracow, Barcelona and Copenhagen influenced her focus on the human scale, with an analytical approach towards socio-cultural context. Through her years of experience, Magdalena has found, that intelligently designed interventions, regardless of scale, when strategically utilized can have a radical impact on the way we interact and experience our environment. Often driving her philosophical output, are nature-based solutions, perceiving nature as an ultimate technology which has the power to adapt, optimize and sustain in any given scenario. Learning from how our digital world too has born new paradigms in user interface, Magda takes a large part of her inspiration, to influence how she designs real life objects. Her drive is towards projects which create a natural sense of intuition, which stimulate playful response, and which encourage a joyful interaction. In essence, Magda seeks to create projects which humans innately love.
Geoffrey Eberle is a British born Architect and Co-founder of Entropic. Since 2013 he has worked in Copenhagen, Barcelona and the UK on a range of ambitious global projects on both the urban, architectural and landscape scale. He led a number of high profile projects in Bjarke Ingels Group for over 5 years, and founded the Rotterdam based, Studio Bold, winning a number of projects in the international market. His approach towards architecture has largely been influenced in the fields of urbanism and robotic fabrication in his education from both the UK and Netherlands, with a prerogative to solving contemporary issues ranging from environmentalism, urban quality and architectural innovation. Geoffrey’s focus is towards the opportunities unlocked through technology and innovation..
Geoffrey fundamentally believes that our lived experiences derive largely from our environment, both in how we operate as individuals, but also in what gives our lives value. In this conception, the role of architects is to reimagine the world in the closest approximation, to our social values, to our individual desires and to the relationship with our natural world. This requires a constant re-evaluation off the presuppositions our world is built upon, and benchmarking against the emergent contemporary social challenges our world faces.
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