all images courtesy of Bystrup 

Denmark-based design office Bystrup in collaboration with Robin Snell Architects has been selected as the winner of Nine Elms Bridge competition. These two team will design a new £40 million London's bridge, Nine Elms is located Sout-West of London. This new pedestrian and cyclist bridge is crossing for the Thames linking Europe's largest regeneration project.

The design, selected from 76 anonymous international entries and selected from the final shortlist of four including; Amanda Levete’s practice AL_A with Ove Arup and Partners, Gross Max, Equals Consulting and Movement Strategies, Marks Barfield Architects with Buro Happold, J&L Gibbons Landscape Architects, and Gardiner and Theobald, Hopkins Architects with Ove Arup & Partners and Grant Associates, Bystrup Architecture Design and Engineering with Robin Snell & Partners, Sven Ole Hansen ApS, AECOM, Aarsleff and ÅF Lighting. 

According to Wandsworth’s Council decision, it can be seen that the team named preferred bidder for the project and tasked with developing detailed plans for central London’s first car-free bridge for cyclists and pedestrians. The full team includes robin snell & partners, svend ole hansen ApS, aarsleff, ÅF lighting aecom, COWI engineering, and DP9. 

the final rendering of Nine Elms bridge

Graham Stirk, senior partner at Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners and chair of the competition jury panel, said: 

“This was an extremely difficult choice between four excellent teams, but ultimately we felt that Bystrup and their partners had the most compelling approach to the challenges posed in our brief. Their strategy is elegant and simple, they aspire to celebrate the river and create a thing of real beauty which is what this bridge should be. 

“Their light touch approach to landing points is commendable and the exploration of lighting and textured surfaces to manage movement across the bridge is both interesting and inventive. They see the bridge as a sustainable transport link and piece of new public realm which should be attractive, fun and a pleasure to use.”

night view of Nine Elms emphasizes the city with its very slender structure

“We are delighted to have this fantastic opportunity to design a new, modern piece of infrastructure for London. From the outset we wanted to design an elegant bridge that provided simple and uninhibited access for all, with minimal impact landings on each bank. We are very excited that this will be the first shared pedestrian and cycle bridge over the Thames, adding to the rich history of London’s river crossings.” said Erik Bystrup, speaking on behalf of the team. 

“This team has impressed at every stage of the competition, combining a light and graceful design ideas with an inventive approach to the core transport challenges. We are convinced they have the talent to develop a successful bridge design which would be both a valuable river crossing and a beautiful addition to the Thames.” said Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council and member of the jury panel. 

The panel’s recommendation will be discussed later this week by Wandsworth Council’s finance and corporate resources committee. A final decision will be made by the council’s executive group on November 30. Amongst the most difficult puzzles which the winning design team has had to overcome is the bridge height which has to rise high above the banks so large vessels can pass beneath. This has been done without creating slopes too steep for cyclists and pedestrians. It needs to be fully accessible for disabled people, and bikes and walkers travelling in both directions must be able to get across safely and effectively without coming into conflict.

plan of winning proposal passes 150m 

> via wandsworth.gov.uk, bystrup.dk, robinsnellandpartners.com