Footbridge over the boulevard périphérique | DVVD

Firm： DVVD

Type： Transport + Infrastructure › Highway Bridge

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2015

BUDGET： $0 - 10K

Photos： Luc Boegly Photographe (9)

"This footbridge symbolizes the Greater Paris project, linking Paris to its outskirts.

We designed it as a thin recognizable line overflying the main European ring road. It binds the streets on each side in a smooth movement that creates continuity, sequences the views and livens up the crossing.

It is possible to walk or ride fast, or to roam by contemplating the bustle of the city from this unique urban balcony. The Périphérique doesn?t appear as an insurmountable barrier anymore: it is reinstated as a boulevard. The continuity between Paris and the city of Aubervilliers is recreated.

We developed an architecture with a variety of experiences. Wood has been chosen for its ability to create facets of warmth, switching this almost unlimited site to human scale. Wooden strips offer a protective space and open views at the same time, bluring slanting sights to secure pedestrians and bike riders, who are beset by noise and speed, while opening longitudinal views on the forest, and offering transparency to motor vehicles.

The steel structure has been optimized, in a resourceful attitude to reduce the environmental impact.

Regarding the site conditions, we succeeded in an innovative construction process that restricted traffic disruption to only one settling night. It has influenced both design and structural choices, while keeping a taut line that gives this project its strength, elegance and poetry."