Toranomon Footbridge commendation at IABSE Awards 2025, Zürich (CH)

The IABSE Awards 2025, renowned for recognizing talent and innovations in bridge and structural engineering, have once again highlighted projects that advance the future of the built environment. This year’s program celebrates excellence across multiple categories, including the People and Paper Awards and the Projects and Technology Awards, culminating in the prestigious Gold Star Awards.

Among the honorees, the Toranomon Footbridge a design by Ney & Partners received a commendation in the category Project and Technology Award 2025, recognizing its exceptional achievement in engineering innovation, seismic design, and urban integration.

The Toranomon Footbridge links two buildings in a dense urban district of Tokyo, serving as both a pedestrian connection and an elevated green plaza. The judging panel praised the project’s technical sophistication and architectural integration:

“The Toranomon Footbridge is a 20 m wide, 35 m span monocoque box girder bridge serving as both a pedestrian crossing and elevated green plaza. Designed for a dense seismic-prone urban site, it features a folded plate bottom flange for structural and aesthetic continuity. Its low static indeterminacy minimizes interaction with adjacent buildings of differing seismic responses. Innovative construction methods, seismic fail-safes, and precise welding ensured safety and durability. Exposed structural surfaces reduced maintenance, optimizing long-term life-cycle costs.”

The recognition of the Toranomon Footbridge underscores the vital role of structural engineering in shaping resilient, functional, and inspiring urban environments. (photo: momkojapan)