Alfred Nobel’s Bridge

The Alfred Nobel Bridge brings motorists, cyclists and pedestrians over the Frederiksholm Channel in the South Harbour of Copenhagen, providing a link to the new districts on Teglholmen and Enghave Brygge. This completes the Harbour Ring, which enables cyclists and pedestrians to travel alongside the water, when they would otherwise have had to travel along the inside of the Frederiksholm Channel on the heavily trafficked Ring Road 02, Vasbygade.

The bridge is more than just a piece of infrastructure. Inspired by Queen Louise’s Bridge, where Copenhageners soak up the sun on the wide pavements in the summer, the bridge has a a 70 metre long and waiving mahogany furniture with plenty of space to enjoy the view.

The complex design
The vantage point, the curved underside and the vertical curves have given the bridge a complex double-curved concrete geometry. The parametric modelled 3D model has been an indispensable tool to ensure a successful and optimal design process. It has also been an important focal point in relation to the ongoing dialogue and cooperation with the architect and client.

The fully automated and parameterised design process was used from the initial geometry models to the finished project in order to adapt the design to the best possible vision of the architect. The method has made it possible to implement all kinds of geometric changes to the project, while ensuring a link between the geometry and calculation models.

The harbour’s longest bench
The bench is designed with a stainless steel skeleton and covered with wooden strips of FSC-certified mahogany. The geometry follows the curvature of the bridge vertically and horizontally, and complements the bridge’s overall expression. The organic shape, which develops continuously over the length of the bridge, entails a complex geometry with more than 4,500 wooden strips and 900 pipe and sheet profiles, several of which have a unique geometry.

Like the bridge, the bench has been created by means of digital tools.