Spider-web walkway design improves access to historic bridge

The walkway and bicycle path hangs below Luxembourg's Pont Adolphe Bridge, providing access without altering the structure

Spotted: Luxembourg-based studio CBA Architects developed a spider-web inspired design to add a walkway and bike path to a historic bridge. The design provides a unique solution for a common problem: modern access without altering the bridge, the studio says.

The Pont Adolphe Bridge, built in 1906, is one of the most important historic sites in Luxembourg city. Officials needed to develop better access between the historic and new parts of the city. But no one wanted to alter the bridge. In response, CBA Architects designed a light-weight steel system. The effect is “a well-controlled spider’s web” that is “barely visible from outside”, according to the studio.

The structure is four metres wide and 3.8 metres tall. The deck is coated in epoxy. Thin anchors and cables attach it to reinforced concrete slabs under the bridge’s deck. Shock absorbers help ease pressure.  There’s also a two-way bike path and two narrow footpaths.

The pedestrian bridge opened at the Pont Adolphe Bridge in 2018. It was longlisted for the Mies Van Der Rohe prize.