NEWS CORTEN STEEL
University restaurant offers unusual corten and concrete facade
Chapuis Royer Architectures have described their Diderot university restaurant in the centre of the Grenoble campus in Saint Martin d’Hères, France, as a “highly unusual concept to enliven the university dining experience.”
© Rasmus Hjortshøj – COAST STEEL
Wilkinson Eyre’s steel bridge reconnects Copenhagen harbour
A 160 m-long steel cycling and pedestrian bridge 160 metres long, has been built across the Inner Harbour in Copenhagen, with a design that conceals a “surprise” opening. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre in conjunction with Urban Agency, the bridge forms a sweeping curve in plan that “reconnects the two misaligned axes of the Vester Voldgade and Langbrogade,” said the architects. Since 2008, cycle traffic on the adjacent Langebro road bridge has increased dramatically, and a central part of the brief was to significantly improve their safety and experience. The new Lille Langebro bridge provides an alternative route for over 10,500 cyclists and pedestrians combined daily.
The shape of the two triangular steel edge beams gradually changes as the bridge crosses the water. At the quaysides, they are angled downwards below the deck, and as the bridge extends across, they gradually twist upward, maximising the clearance
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below deck, and “providing a perceived sense of security at mid span.” The “continuously flowing lines” of the
bridge “offer no clues as to how the bridge opens,” said Wilkinson Eyre. The two opening spans create a “surprise” as they pivot on their supports and swing apart at mid-span. This motion provides a spectacle for viewers to enjoy and results in a 35 metre-wide shipping channel. Sustainability approaches for the
bridge’s 100-year design life, included creating resilient infrastructure and “ensuring the highest levels of material quality for the client and the city’s residents.” LED lighting has been installed across the length of the bridge, ensuring low levels of operational carbon and providing access at night.
The design has successfully responded to the client’s vision to create a “subtle and elegant” transport link, said the architects, and has reportedly been well received by both locals and visitors to Copenhagen.
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Set on a site that already numbers several other works of architecture, the public areas face frontages composed of raw concrete facades, wooden slat screens, different elements made of corten steel, and large glazed bays. These materials were in part chosen to ensure durability and minimal upkeep, said the architects.
The building offers views towards the exterior, taking advantage of natural light, even in restaurant staff’s work areas. The glazed bays on the ground floor allow the structure to “appear transparent,” along with terraces, patios, and a bow window on the floor above. The fifth, roof, facade consists of a concrete enclosure wall covered with insulating materials “to ensure visual and acoustic protection from the mechanical noise of the technical equipment,” said the architects.
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