03.029 | ‘De Lichtenlijn’ Footbridge

The bridge symbolises an entry into the marine city of Knokke-Heist. The static model is a continuous beam with a length of 102 m that rests on 4 supports. This creates an ideal span division of 28 m/46 m/28 m. The structural form was first hand drawn, subsequently digitally processed: a software program computed the minimum amount of material and the shapes of the openings. The result is an optimised shape. From a conceptual point of view, the bridge consists of welded bent steel plates of 12 mm thickness. In this way, a structural steel ‘hammock’ is formed in which a concrete deck lies. To resist shear forces, caused by the bent shape in plan, the sides of the plates are 45 % inclined with respect to the central axis.