Bridges Enschede
Type: Two bridges Location: Glanerbeek Client: Municipality Enschede Team: Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers, John van de Water with Shaya Fallahi, Joost Lemmens Collaborator / associate: H+N+S Landschapearchitects Floor area / size: 20 mtr span Cost: - Contractor: Spijkerbouw Construction: ABT construction, Rob Nijsse and Jans Askes Start building: May 2006 Completion: December 2006
To reconcile the rather contradictory aim of transporting motor-vehicle traffic through the ecological zone of the Glanerbeek, the continuity of both is taken as a starting point. Above the brook the bridge transforms according to visual and ecological demands.
The bridge splits into three separate lanes – one each for bus, pedestrians and bicycles - and each assigned its individual artery the maximum available height, clearance and incline. This emphasizes its transparency, providing daylight underneath the bridge for flora and fauna, as well as a view of the Glanerbeek for passersby. A bench placed at the most advantageous overlook on the footpath combines the traditional function of the bridge as a point of transition with that of a meeting place.
The construction is based on a thin in-situ concrete deck, strategically positioned atop a repetition of gabions filled with rough stones. The use of gabions allows plants and wildlife to inhabit the structure, further integrating the bridge into its natural surroundings.