Gauja Pedestrian Bridge
Studio Paul Kaloustian

Gauja Pedestrian Bridge

The bridge is only a fitting landmark and a welcoming station if it truly heralds the rich natural environment of the Gauja Natural Park.

 

It must therefore contain this promise within its design and become a peaceful promenade between the existing trees creating a sense of poetry and wonder as a prelude of a walk in the forest and transform into a pier over the lake as a signal of the Gauja river running free.

 

The information stand welcomes the pedestrian visitor onto a smoothly ascending platform offering different paths which hold in them a sense of discovery. The cut out form of the bridge takes a natural flowing shape that offers overlooks and rest areas as the visitor moves through.

 

The shape also helps the wind to freely circulate around its curves. The mesh balustrades create a visually blurred boundary letting the elements of nature pass through it seamlessly and yet it keeps the visitor protected and safe within its boundaries. From the street, the visitor in a car will soon encounter an unusual white cloud hovering between sky and earth and beckoning their proximity to the majestic park.

 

Finally, the light structure sits with a minimal footprint over the white columns replicating the tree trunks and morphs in with the nature around it defying the usual nonplaceness of a bridge as simply a transient path between two points and becoming an actual space and a landmark.

Project credits

Project data

Project Year
2019
Category
Bridges
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