Neue Brücke über den Fluss Göta / Ny bro över Göta älv - Hisingsbron

KRONAN - THE CROWN

Aesthetic Clarity
This bridge is designed to fit within the existing and imagined future skyline of Gothenburg. It does not employ structural gymnastics or tall structure to compete with the masts and towers that characterise the site but relies on a strong and distinctive horizontal aesthetic that is both urban and progressive. The fixed and opening bridges are fully integrated within a rigorously coordinated structure. The design has been rationalised to eradicate bulky sub-aqua bascule chambers and to mediate between the mass of the highway bridge and the lightness of the low level pedestrian structures. The structure employs a language of triangulated and folded planes. This geometric ‘motif’ extends to the opening decks whose zig-zag lines are reminiscent of Gothenburg’s historic fortifications.

Sub-Bridge Environment
High level bridges create a distinct below-bridge environment with the deck acting as a vast ceiling plane. The proposal creates a positive and distinctive public realm beneath the bridge, using its structure to form spatially dynamic external rooms on a grand scale. On both sides of the river the bridge shelters new destinations for formal and informal use as highlights of the re-imaged riverside city.

Dramatic Operation
The bridge opens in a unique and dramatic fashion creating urban theatre from completely standard methods and technologies. The Interlocking bascule configuration opens a to reveal a 3 pointed ‘crown’ to waiting traffic, and provides the bridge with a distinctive signature that will be synonymous with Gothenburg. Balconies below the bridge will provide an extraordinary spectacle to pedestrians as the opening decks unlock and reveal the sky through diagonal ‘cuts’. The bridge decks open to 45 degrees maintaining a slight overlap, suggesting that while the bridge is open the two sides of the river remain connected.

Pedestrian Experience
The design provides a fluid quayside-to-quayside route, keeping pedestrians in close proximity to the water until they must rise to pass over the shipping channels. Pedestrians interchange between the over-deck and under-deck environments and are able to cross safely between sides on underpass bridges beneath the main deck. These also offer the option for access onto the ship protection piers so that a true river experience can be provided from the bridge. Cyclists will generally be on a fast-track route between distant points but have the additional option of open elevator access between quaysides and upper deck on all four ‘corners’ of the bridge.