Rother’s Mill

The main binder and symbol that brings together the spirit of modernity of the urban construction complex with the existing mass of the former Rother’s mill is the glass bridge. The idea of its location derives not only from the tradition and history of the urban layout of the area of the ‘Bydgoszcz Venice’ intertwined with numerous canals. The illuminated glass bridge (with a wide-ranging functional programme) enhances the most beautiful landscape of nearby watersides, and hence embodies the symbolism of meeting. With its two-wing mass, the former Rother’s mill reveals a special layout of functional floorspaces that are spanned with the adjacent park. The bridge (with a steel structure and a 150-metre span) is anchored at two points – between one corner of the granary infrastructure and the other. The structural cores also fulfil evacuation and communication functions (stairs and lifts). Austere, synthetic geometry closes the site development area and creates a visual coherence of the urban layout. On the other hand, the bridge (made of steel and glazed on the outside) aesthetically opens to the park and the old town, orients its geometry in the direction of the river current. This ploy of lightness will be enhanced by a glass structure at the foot of the mass and reflecting the water surface.