This new bike bridge will be the wildest cycle lane ever built

THIS bike-centric country couldn’t be more different to Australia. And it’s taking its enthusiasm to another level.

less than 2 min read

November 25, 2015 - 10:02AM

DENMARK’S bike-centric cities couldn’t be more different to Australia’s car-centric towns.

To folks down under, who live in the “world’s worst place for cyclists”, Copenhagen’s bicycle-friendly infrastructure can seem crazy. But their new bridge — Copenhagen Gate — would be crazy/good in just about anyone’s books.

It’s a cycle and pedestrian bridge running between two skyscrapers and suspended 65 metres above the waters below. New York architect Steven Holl has just received the go-ahead to build the pair of skyscrapers that are linked by the bridge at the entrance to the historic harbour in Copenhagen. The bridge will be high enough for cruise ships to get in and out of the harbour.

Construction is planned to start in 2016, about eight years after winning a design competition by a unanimous decision. The Copenhagen Gate project was put on hold because of economic troubles in Denmark.

There’s space enough for ships to pass beneath the cycle path. Picture: Steven Holl Architects

The delightfully simple drawing of the two towers with two bridges. Picture: Steven Holl Architects

Steven Holl Architects said each tower “carries its own cable-stay bridge between the two piers”.

“Due to the site geometry, these bridges meet at an angle, joining like a handshake over the harbour,” it said in a statement.

“The soffits below the bridges and under the cantilevers pick up the bright colours of the harbour; container orange on the undersides of the Langelinie, bright yellow on the undersides of the Marmormolen.

“At night the uplights washing the coloured aluminium reflect like paintings in the water.”

The most seaward tower, Gate L, will house cafes and restaurants and feature an open-air public deck shaped like the prow of a ship.

Elevators in each building will haul pedestrians and cyclists up and down. It might be faster to scoot around the edge of the harbour, but that wouldn’t be as fun.