Passerelle Zwolle is a new pedestrian bridge connecting the historic centre of Zwolle, the Netherlands, with the developing districts south of the railway. Designed by a multidisciplinary team led by Karres en Brands, with ipv Delft as bridge specialist and Ingenieurbüro Miebach as timber construction specialist, the Passerelle results from an intensive design process to develop an integrated vision for the railway zone. The Municipality of Zwolle, Dutch railway infrastructure manager ProRail, timber and rail specialist Pontico, and civil engineering consultancy Attis were also involved in the design process.

An intermediate landscape

The Passerelle forms part of a wider development perspective for Zwolle’s railway zone, developed by Karres en Brands in 2016–2017. The focus extended beyond infrastructure to the city itself: restoring urban continuity, strengthening pedestrian and cycling routes, and adding public spaces around the station. The wider redevelopment brings together interventions including an underground bicycle parking facility, a bus bridge, and the redevelopment of the station square and several other public spaces within a common spatial framework.

The railway zone is conceived as an ‘intermediate landscape’ where mobility, urban development, and landscape converge. The station area’s redevelopment forms part of a wider transformation of the Spoorzone to the south into a new urban district. Designed as an extension of Stationsstraat, the Passerelle carries the city’s street network across the railway and into the developing Spoorzone, improving accessibility and strengthening social cohesion by linking it with amenities, employment, and urban life.

A raised street

Rather than functioning solely as a crossing, the Passerelle is designed as an elevated public space. Karres en Brands describes the concept as a ‘raised street’, creating a sequence of spaces intended both for movement and for stopping along the route.

The 130-metre-long, 10-metre-wide bridge rises approximately seven metres above the railway and follows a gentle S-shape that slows the crossing and changes sightlines across the tracks and surrounding city. At its centre, the deck widens to create a gathering space, while on the southern side it develops into a planted viewing platform connected with the station park.

Planting, seating, water, and changes in the width of the route give the bridge the character of an elevated park. The landscape is integrated into the bridge structure rather than applied as a separate layer, with soil, vegetation, and water management incorporated into the deck.

European softwood and a CLT deck

The primary structure comprises four parallel laminated timber main girders in European softwood, each 134 centimetres high. The girders are connected transversely and supported by five portal-shaped steel supports, whose design references historic station canopies and railway overhead-line portals. A 15-centimetre-thick cross-laminated timber (CLT) deck spans above the supporting structure, while timber is also used for the lift shafts and continuous handrails.

The choice of timber followed an assessment of Environmental Cost Indicator (MKI) scores alongside feasibility, cost, and maintenance. The analysis found timber to be the most environmentally favourable solution for the deck, girders, and lift shafts, despite the technical demands created by the bridge's planting and water retention system.

At 130 metres long, the Passerelle is the longest pedestrian bridge in Europe made from European softwood. The timber used in the structure stores around 1,300 tonnes of CO2, while contractor Dura Vermeer reports that using timber reduced construction-related CO2 emissions by more than 74 percent compared with a comparable steel pedestrian bridge.

The timber deck structure can also be dismantled, supporting the project's wider approach to circular construction.

Landscape, water, and biodiversity

Vegetation, water, and soil form an integral part of the bridge. Diverse planting changes with the seasons, while sheltered areas within the landscape provide habitat for birds, bats, and insects.

A visible water management system supplies the planted areas and also forms part of the experience of crossing the bridge. Water appears in several forms, including a water feature, a stepped play element, and a continuous channel with shallow ridges that alter the movement of the water.

Accessibility is integrated into these landscape and public realm elements. Transparent balustrades maintain views for users at different heights, including children, while benches are arranged so that wheelchair users can sit alongside other visitors. The continuous water channel also provides a subtle guiding line for blind and visually impaired users. Spacious lifts provide access between bridge and street level for cyclists, who walk their bicycles across the bridge.

By combining a timber bridge structure with planting, water management, accessible public space, and pedestrian infrastructure, Passerelle Zwolle forms part of the longer term transformation of the station area while establishing a new connection across the railway.