Maribor Footbridge by Ja Studio

Project: Maribor Footbridge
Location: Maribor, Slovenia
Designed by Ja Studio & Tadj-Farzin
Website: jastudioinc.com
Contemporary design proposal for Maribor Footbridge Proposal by Ja Studio & Tadj-Farzin Studio. For more images and description coming from Ja Studio, continue after the jump:

The city of Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia and it is getting ready to become the European Capital of Culture in 2012. As part of the three catalyst projects to revive the historic riverfront of the city, the city of Maribor host a competition to design a 150 meter long footbridge for walking and cycling on the location of a demolished historic bridge. Ja Studio’s proposal was an effort to re-visit the idea of the bridge as a multi-functional urban surface that resolves its geometry between the structural issues of crossing and spanning and the functional opportunities that may potentially arise from these structural necessities.

Crossing the new pedestrian Lent-Tabor Bridge would be as important as spending time on it. The proximity of the existing bridges over Drava along Lent Tabor embankment provides an opportunity for the new bridge to perform more than a crossing bridge and become both a landmark and a vibrant urban surface that is intensely engaged with the water.

The bridge is designed as a 15m wide surface that can create a variety of experiential condition between people and Drava. The undulation of the bridge surface on one hand provides the structural stability of the bridge and at the same time allows the users to reach the water and engage in varietyof spontaneous activities. From collective joy of watching a rowing competition during Lent festival to a romantic encounter on a narrow walkway down from the ridge, the range of possible interaction of people and water becomes infinite. People’s spontaneous use of this urban surface would turn the bridge to an urban spectacle.

The top surface of the bridge would be covered with wood decking that turns to steps on the ac-cessible areas and morphs into a single sloped surface on the steep conditions. The single surface areas will be protected from public access by a combination of steel tube guardrails. The ridge of the surface is a horizontal pathway that forms a datum for the bridge and connects the two sides of the bridge. – from Ja Studio