Footbridge in Coimbra by Cecil Balmond

Cecil Balmond is a world-class engineer, and one architectural star after another turns to him for structural problems. In Coimbra, Portugal, Balmond was finally able to assume the role of an architect who had his own engineer at his disposal - Antonio Adao da Fonseca from Porto. Recently, Balmond's latest work was completed - a pedestrian bridge over the Rio Mondego river connecting two new parks in the small baroque university town of Coimbra. The lightweight and elegant bridge is, however, very revolutionary and provocative in terms of construction. Both parallel sections of the bridge, leading from opposite banks across the water, initially seem as if they shouldn't meet in the middle at all. Only a “last-minute dance” brings them together. The meeting place created here serves as a public space where one can “stop, look around, and chat”. The railing consists of multicolored glass panels of irregular shapes that reflect the water's surface like a kaleidoscope. The bridge does not take pedestrians by the shortest route from one bank to the other but aims to be an attraction encouraging meandering, dreaming, and no rushing. Along the way, winding wooden balustrades “like the elbows of a runner” create small spots where two people can together look at the river. The 274-meter-long bridge is four meters wide and cost 3.5 million euros. Link>