Tunnel Design

Design for the heavyweights of infrastructure

PORTALER OVERSIGT

Tunnels are among the most complex structures in the built environment, while also serving as spaces in which people must be able to navigate intuitively, feel safe, and maintain a clear sense of orientation throughout long underground or subsea journeys.

  • Dissing+Weitling has designed a number of landmark tunnel projects — ranging from smaller-scale structures in Norway and Austria to the world’s longest immersed two-way tunnel in China. Across all projects lies a shared ambition: to unite architecture and infrastructure into one coherent whole.

    Tunnels as part of the landscape

    Tunnel portals, access facilities, and technical structures often become prominent elements within both landscapes and urban environments. For this reason, materiality, proportion, and integration with the surrounding context are essential components of the tunnel design process.

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    3. Limfjord Connection

    The 3. Limfjord Connection is designed to integrate harmoniously with the existing landscape and infrastructure around Aalborg.

  • Without variation, long tunnel passages can feel monotonous, claustrophobic, or stressful. However, through carefully calibrated lighting design, spatial variation, and deliberate materiality, the tunnel experience can instead become intuitive, reassuring, and comfortable.

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    The Øresund Fixed Link

    Dissing+Weitling served as consultant on the extensive construction works for the Øresund Fixed Link, a project that sought to unite environmental, landscape, architectural, engineering, and aesthetic qualities within one coherent infrastructure design.

  • Black hole effect

    Particular attention must be given to the transition between the open landscape or urban realm and the interior of the tunnel. It is here that strong contrasts between daylight and artificial lighting occur — the so-called black hole effect — where drivers must rapidly adapt their vision to changing light conditions. Carefully designed transitions between exterior and interior environments help reduce stress and enhance the sense of clarity, orientation, and flow.

    Lighting design therefore becomes a central architectural tool in tunnel projects. Light is used actively to create rhythm, variation, and spatial legibility throughout the tunnel journey.

  • Technology and spatial quality

    Ventilation, acoustics, and indoor climate are likewise critical design parameters. In road and metro tunnels, air quality, temperature regulation, and smoke control in the event of fire place high demands on both technical systems and spatial design. At the same time, noise, airflow, and pressure waves significantly influence the human experience of the space.

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    The ShenZhong Link

    The ShenZhong Link consists of two artificial islands, two high-level bridges, a low-level bridge, and an immersed tunnel.

  • Tunnel projects are inherently interdisciplinary. It is through the integration of architecture, engineering, and technical systems that the tunnel evolves from a purely technical passage into a space that supports mobility, safety, and human experience.

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    Izmir Bay Link, Turkey

    The design solution for the Izmir Bay Link includes an artificial island positioned at the transition between bridge and tunnel, forming part of the new Izmir Bay crossing.

  • Contact

    Jesper Henriksen
    Managing Director, Partner, Architect MAA (Mobility)
    +45 2999 4229