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Year
2007
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Location
Alverca do Ribatejo, Vila Franca de Xira – Portugal
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Co-author
Pedro Pereira
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Photography
Luís Pavão
Intro
The challenge presented by the promoter was to create an object/link connecting two points with the same approximate height, separated by a tar-covered rift – a visible separation on the pedestrian passage from one point to the other. In opposition to other pedestrian bridges that separate the horizontal platform from the staircase/ramps, this project is characterized as a unique volume that’s strategically imposed to create an entrance to the city
The answer unequivocally emerges from joining these two points with the aid of a third point, taking into consideration the highest point of the passage, which provides the technical solution to the lowest point to cross over the motorway, as a convenient and accessible means of circulation between the starting and finishing points.
The bridge’s structure gains large spaces between pillars due to the use of steel modules with a “U” section, creating a solid unification of the pedestrian ramps with the handrail.
The proposed structure – without doubt a landmark – has through its “coating” a micro-perforated plating, capable of portraying through its purest formal expression a rectangular form which can be seen during the daytime, while another expression is made possible by the same material during night-time by being visible through vertical lighting elements, dematerialising the structure, thus enabling observers to gain a different perspective and, with the surroundings, to project a more artistic interaction.