Aarau, Switzerland
Christ & Gantenbein have designed in collaboration with local engineering studios WMM Ingenieure and Henauer Gugler, New Aare Bridge connects the city center to a forested area on the other side and incorporates lanes for cars, pedestrians, and cyclists.
The architects have seamlessly integrated this modern infrastructure with the historic city and landscape.
The bridge replaces the 1949 concrete structure, enhancing transportation and creating an alluring urban space with its elegant curved arches.
The new bridge is both a traditional structure and a technically optimized, concrete construction.
Inspired by the solidity of the stone buildings in Aarau, the medieval houses along the city wall, the nearby piers, retaining walls, ramps, and riverbank reinforcements, its light coloring maintains the dialogue of the structure with its surroundings.
Equally, the bridge is a rational, modern archlike reinforced concrete construction, which employs concrete sparingly thanks to its specific geometry.
The five spanning arches of different widths partially rest on the two caissons of the old bridge located in the riverbed, thus enabling their reuse.
Another important aspect of the bridge construction is its monolithic supporting structure, in which all of the components – pillar foundations, pillars, arches, flanks, roadway, and parapets – build a uniform, seamless construction.
All elements participate in load-bearing, leading to an optimized and thus sustainable structure.
With a length of 119 meters and a width of 17.5 meters, the bridge features two lanes, sidewalks on both sides and bicycle tracks.
Where the riverbank path spans the bridge, large openings offer transverse views of the environs, thus creating attractive public spaces for everyone walking, jogging, or cycling along the Aare River.
The new riverside links the bridge to the city where existing promenades are enhanced and newly interpreted: on the old town side, a spacious urban promenade with a square for lounging beneath shady trees is being created.
On the northern riverbank area, the bridge is embellished with green meadows and local vegetation.
At first glance, the new Aare Bridge is a traditional bridge, but upon closer inspection, it is a technically optimized engineering structure.
Its architectural design discerningly contributes another layer to the evolution of our urban environment, making the city more attractive to its inhabitants.
Project: New Aare Bridge
Architects: Christ & Gantenbein
Design Team: Emanuel Christ, Christoph Gantenbein, Mona Farag, Tabea Lachenmann, and Jean Wagner
Landscape Architects: August + Margrit Künzel Landschaftsarchitekten
Engineering: WMM Ingenieure AG and Henauer Gugler AG
Client: Kanton Aargau, Switzerland
Photographers: Stefano Graziani
