The competition brief aimed to design a bridge capable to separate the vehicular traffic from the pedestrian flows, and at the same time, to connect two different areas of the city of Cittadella, in Italy.

All the conceptual, structural and compositive efforts produced during the design phase were addressed to conceive the bridge as a collective hybrid infrastructure: a place where people, nature and architecture could merge into a unique condition.

The bridge, in fact, is not only a link between two different contexts; on the contrary it acts as a panoramic point, a place for aggregation. Once you reach and enter the bridge, you can establish a visual direct connection with historic centre of Cittadella.

Furthermore, the bridge works as a neutral structure that can be colonized not only by people, but also by vegetation. Over time it will be gradually covered by nature. It won’t look anymore as a bridge but as a habited pergola.

By working on these aspects, the bridge turns into a landmark, an ever-changing infrastructure marking the territory. Its structure wraps vertical connectors, pillars, and platforms. But from the distance, it looks like a single gesture.

In terms of public facilities, the design of the bridge includes three equipped spaces – located at the entrance of each wing of the structure – that serve as a link between the context and the new architecture.

The structural conception of the building – a self-supported mesh – responds the following goals: ephemerality, dematerialization, blurring boundaries. The structural skeleton has 5 points of contact with the ground: three of them constitute the entrance of the bridge, the other two include the elevators. The maximum span between two supporting elements is 25 mt.All the further elements required by the competition brief (stairs, elevators, etc.) contribute to the rigidity of the structure.

The end result is a sort of cloud, floating on the vehicular traffic of the highway.