Circle of Life

Infinite Bridge in Aarhus

Gjøde & Partnere Arkitekter

 

A circular bridge?

The Infi­nite Bridge in Aarhus, Denmark’s second-largest city, was desi­gned by Gjøde & Povls­gaard Arki­tekter for the 2015 “Sculp­ture by the Sea” festival.

The bridge takes people nowhere, but it helps to expe­ri­ence the chan­ging land­scape as an endless pano­r­amic compo­si­tion. At the same time, Infi­nite Bridge is a space of social inter­ac­tion with other people expe­ri­en­cing the same panorama.

60 meters

The Infi­nite Bridge has a diameter of 60 meters and is posi­tioned half on the beach and half in the sea. It consists of 60 iden­tical wooden elements placed on steel pillars housed about two meters into the sea floor.

The deck of the bridge rises between one and two meters above the water surface depen­ding on the tide. The curvature of the bridge follows the contours of the land­scape as it sits at the mouth of a small river valley exten­ding into the forest from the beach.

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Connection

The span of the bridge is made of wood, the supporting pillars are made of steel. The archi­tects created a sculp­ture that is all about expe­ri­en­cing the surroun­dings and beco­ming aware of the rela­tion between the city and the magni­fi­cent land­scape of the bay.

In addi­tion to unfol­ding the seaside panorama, the Infi­nite Bridge estab­lishes a connec­tion between the present and the history of the specific site, as it recon­nects the beach to a long forgotten view­point at sea.

History

The bridge touches the landing dock of a previous pier located at the site where people used to arrive in steam­boats from the city to relax and enjoy them­selves. The historic Varna Pavi­lion that sits on the hillside above the beach was a popular desti­na­tion in the scenic land­scape with its terraces, restau­rant and dance­hall. Situated on the edge of the forest facing the sea the pavi­lion was meant to be expe­ri­enced from the landing dock of the pier that no longer exists. The Infi­nite Bridge reestab­lishes this historic connec­tion and offers a new perspec­tive on the rela­tion between the city and the surroun­ding land­scape.

The Infi­nite Bridge is set up from May until October.

What do you think?

Circle of Life (Elton John)

From the day we arrive on the planet
And blin­king, step into the sun
There’s more to be seen than can ever be seen
More to do than can ever be done

Some say eat or be eaten
Some say live and let live
But all are agreed as they join the stam­pede
You should never take more than you give in the circle of life

It’s the wheel of fortune
It’s the leap of faith
It’s the band of hope
Till we find our place
On the path unwin­ding
In the circle, the circle of life
Visit Gjøde & Part­nere Arki­tekter

We did this.

Project data and compa­nies involved

Architects

Gjøde & Part­nere Arki­tekter
Høegh-Guld­bergs Gade 65
DK — 8000 Aarhus C

Photos

Aarhus I Billeder
Peter Hastrup Jensen
anskebilleder.dk

Operator

Aarhus Kommune

Text

Atelier Regular

Address

Ørne­re­devej 3
8000 Aarhus
Däne­mark

Opening

2015

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