Rheinlicht
The villages of Sennwald and Ruggell are separated by the river Rhine and the A13 motorway. As the existing bridge between the municipalities is heavily frequented by the motorised traffic, a new bridge is to be built over the Rhine, which will serve as a pedestrian and cycle path for daily commuting and leisure traffic.
The fourth-ranked project, ‘Rheinlicht’ by the team LÜCHINGER MEYER PARTNER / Winfried Schneider Produktdesign and DGJ Paysages, envisages the construction of a 140-metre-long suspension bridge featuring two slender double pylons and a wide span of 123 metres. The lightness of the cable construction, which is positioned at an appropriate distance from the existing road bridge, sets apart the appearance of the new river crossing from the aesthetics of the existing all-concrete bridge. Thanks to its structural lightness, the function of the new connection, intended exclusively for slow traffic, is easily recognisable. This creates a new point of reference and provides orientation to the users of the various road, cycle and footpaths.
Since the cable structure is mainly subjected to tensile loading, the suspension bridge can be built using extremely slender and structurally highly efficient steel cross-sections. The result is a lightweight structure that can be constructed using basic building methods while avoiding any interference with the riverbed, thereby creating a sustainable and particularly economical structure. In addition to the simplicity of realisation, the absence of any structures in the riverbed offers the benefit of not impeding the runoff and therefore minimising any potential flooding risks.
‘The delicate supporting structure, which spans the Rhine with minimal material usage and without intermediate supports, impressed the jury at first glance in terms of its aesthetics and sustainability.’
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Visualisations / Video: Winfried Schneider Produktdesign
