Bicycle Snake
Urban boost and added value
With its clever urban adaptation, harmonic flow and elegant structure, the Bicycle Snake has become an icon for Copenhagen’s status as the world’s leading bicycle city, and a symbol of the city’s praised urban qualities.
- Location
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Category
- Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridges
- Year
- 2010 - 2014
- Client
- The City of Copenhagen
- Collaborators
- Rambøll / MT Højgaard / Marianne Levinsen Landskab
- Size
- 230 m
- Photos
- Rasmus Hjortshøj - COAST Studio
- Highlighted Awards
- Icon Award, Danish Design Award, 2018 / København, Den Europæiske Pris for Offentlige Byrum, 2016/ Higways & Bridges, Architizer A+ Awards, 2015 / Beautiful Architecture Award, Københavns Kommune, 2015 / Store Arne, Arkitektforeningen, 2015 / Graphite Pencil, Spatial Design, Public Community Spaces / D&AD Awards, 2015 / Wan Transport Award, 2014/ Raise the Bar Award, Københavns Kommune, 2013.
"It's an unequalled biking pleasure!"
This is the words by Danish newspaper Politiken, who writes an enthusiastic review about Copenhagen's new bicycle bridge. And like the newspapers, from day one, the Copenhageners loved the gently curving bicycle bridge.An icon
With its clever urban adaptation, harmonic flow and elegant structure, The Bicycle Snake has become an icon for Copenhagen’s status as the world’s leading bicycle city and a symbol of the city’s praised urban qualities.
The bridge is a boost to the area around the Fisketorvet Shopping Center in Copenhagen. From the start, we saw a potential for the new bicycle bridge to be a joy to ride on, with gentler gradients and better curvature, making it an element that could pull together an area with a multitude of incoherent buildings.
When riding the Bicycle Snake, cyclists can pass quickly and easily through the area, experience exciting views while the elevated road allows pedestrians to use the entire wharf, without crossing cyclists.
Structure
The bridge is a painted, airtight welded steel structure, carried by a central steel spine – a 75 cm box girder, from which a series of cantilevered struts, made of folded steel plates, carries the steel plate deck.
The structure is slim, with all parts being structural, hereby reducing the visual impact. We have strived for transparency and simplicity. Structural refinement. The parapet is perceived as a transparent film, no modular hierarchy. In essence underlining the fluidity of movement through space. The parapet consists of inward leaning steel bars with a circular cross section with a stainless steel handrail.
The bridge relates essentially to Bryggebroen but differs in detail, reflecting its functionality, alignment and setting.
Award winner
Since its opening in the summer of 2014, the bridge has gained a large amount of attention in national and international media. The Bicycle Snake was represented at La Biennale di Venezia 2016 and has been awarded with a number of awards. In 2018 the Bicycle Bridge won the Icon Award in the Danish Design Award.
"From day one, Copenhageners loved the gently curving cycle bridge with the impressive view. The elegant and empathic solution lets cyclists cross the harbour in a safe and dignified manner, underlining the city’s profile as a sustainable metropolis with a pedal-powered profile. A visionary example of architecture that builds connections and does the entire city proud."