Tabiat Bridge | |
---|---|
Coordinates | 35°45′16″N 51°25′14″E / 35.75442°N 51.4205°E |
Crosses | Modares Expressway |
Locale | Tehran, Iran |
Official name | Pole Tabiat |
Characteristics | |
Design | Footbridge |
History | |
Designer | Leila Araghian |
Contracted lead designer | Diba Tensile Architecture |
Construction start | 2010 |
Construction end | 2014 |
Location | |
|
The Tabi'at Bridge ( Persian: پل طبیعت, lit. 'The bridge of nature') is the largest pedestrian overpass in Tehran, Iran. The 270-metre (890 ft) bridge connects two public parks — Taleghani Park and Abo-Atash Park — by spanning Modarres Expressway, one of the main highways in northern Tehran. [1] The word tabiat means "nature" in the Persian language. [1]
The bridge was designed by Diba Tensile Architecture ( Leila Araghian and Alireza Behzadi). [1] It has won several awards, including the Popular Choice Prize for Highways & Bridges from the Architizer A+ Awards, a global architectural competition based in New York. [2] [3] The bridge also won the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture [4] for its exemplary approach to an infrastructure project, "a breath of fresh air" according to the award jury. [5]
Tabiat Bridge was designed by Leila Araghian as part of a local competition for the design of a bridge to connect two parks in north Tehran which were separated by a highway. [6] In designing the bridge, a process which took a total of 4 years, Araghian wanted it to "be a place for people to stay and ponder, not simply pass." [6] To achieve this the bridge is not straight and contains benches and seating. [3]
Construction of the bridge started in 2010, using a total of 2000 tonnes of steel and 10000 cubic metres of concrete before it was finished in October 2014. [3] Construction of the bridge over a large highway was described as a big challenge, with platforms and temporary tunnels built to ensure that nothing fell onto the road below. [3]
Three tree-shaped columns support two continuous deck levels which makes the lower level covered and suitable for use in all seasons. [5] A third level is located where the truss meets the column branches. [7] The complex steel structure has a dynamic three-dimensional truss[1] and the surface is curved with a varying width. [7] Structural elements of the bridge use a latent geometrical order rotated and repeated in all three dimensions. [7]
Restaurants serve customers at either end of the bridge with seating areas [8] and kiosks between. [7] Some areas of the bridge are open to allow trees to grow [8] and the bridge itself has green spaces to encourage visitors to linger. [7] The bridge offers viewing areas for scenery without itself blocking the view of the Alborz mountains and has a small footprint that blends in with its environment. [7]
Each of the two parks the bridge connects has multiple pathways leading visitors onto the bridge. [7]
The bridge not only connects two parks, it is a popular gathering place for the community in its seating areas [5] and restaurants, acting as a place for people to stay not just pass. [9] Some have described walking on the bridge as feeling like walking through a forest and a place of positive energy where they can come to reenergize when feeling low. [9] Four million people visited the bridge the first year it was open. [9]