Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture & Design Special – Denmark
The bicycle skyway in Xiamen.
Designing a bicycle adventure Copenhagen wants to be the world’s best city for bikes, and local architects DISSING+WEITLING are helping the city meet that expectation. Their innovative bicycle bridges have become a symbol of the Copenhagen way of living, garnering international attention. By Nicolai Lisberg | Photos: DISSING+WEITLING architecture
“Safety is important, but we also want it to be an adventure.” For Steen Savery Trojaborg, partner and CEO at DISSING+ WEITLING, riding a bike in the city should be a joyful experience, something that encourages you to use your bike more often. With an ongoing ambition to create optimal spaces for human activity, the Danish architecture firm has broadened their focus over the last ten years to also create better infrastructure for cyclists. “We have plenty of experience in designing bridges, and after Copenhagen really started focusing on becoming the best bicycle city in the world, we have 48 | Issue 105 | October 2017
used that experience in designing bicycle bridges as well. It’s been a tremendous experience for us creating safe connections where there used to be obstacles in the urban fabric,” says Trojaborg. DISSING+WEITLING has already designed several bicycle bridges in Copenhagen alone, which has made it easier to get around in the city and helped increase the number of people using the bike for their daily commutes.
A shortcut above land and water Among the bridges for bikes and pedestrians is Aabuen, which connects two
neighbourhoods across a busy main road, as well as the Quay Bridge, the first new bridge over the harbour of Copenhagen in 50 years. However, the most famous bicycle bridge designed by DISSING+WEITLING is no doubt the Bicycle Snake, a multi-award-winning 230-metre-long sky bridge that offers a clever shortcut to the Quay Bridge. With its distinctive structure and characteristic orange surface, it is both warm and welcoming. The bridge winds its way and, by doing so, automatically gets bikers to slow down and enjoy the ride. “It has exceeded all our expectations. Approximately 22,000 cyclists use it every day,” says Trojaborg. “What makes it so popular is the fact that it’s more than just a route of transportation. It’s a small biking adventure that has helped create an entirely new urban space for pedestrians underneath it. It’s a bike route above land