OMA has won a competition to design a new bridge across the Saône in Lyon as part of the TEOL (Tram Express de l’Ouest Lyonnais) project led by SYTRAL Mobilités.

The bridge addresses a long-standing gap in Lyon's public transportation system by connecting the city's western bank with the Confluence region, a former industrial port that has been converted into a mixed-use urban sector. 

The bridge spans a 224-meter-long and 13,65 meter wide. The bridge is designed with ramps, bicycle, pedestrian path, landscape and public space, as well as a tunnel head.

A tramway and a pedestrian and bicycle passage are two separate forms of transportation that are combined into one effective and entertaining structure in OMA's winning design.

"Most contemporary bridges strive to be unadulterated landmarks. Not this one. OMA’s bridge doesn’t dominate the landscape but completes it, offering an elegant connection between the urban waterfront and the river’s natural edge," said Reinier de Graaf, Partner at OMA. 

"The design draws from its surroundings, blending in with the steep, green slopes of La Balme to the west while manifesting subtly on the Confluence side to the east," De Graaf added.

Along with project architect Anton Anikeev and associate Gilles Guyot, OMA Partner Reinier de Graaf oversaw the design. The Simone Veil Bridge in Bordeaux, which OMA designed and had completed in 2024, was awarded the Équerre d'Argent in the Infrastructure and Civil Engineering Works category that same year. 

The office was in charge of the Vallée de la Chimie project in the Lyon metropolitan area, which revitalized one of the biggest chemical and petrochemical complexes in Europe.

The idea was created in collaboration with Marco Rossi Paysagiste, Devaux & Devaux architects, and WSP.

OMA recently completed the JOMOO Headquarters in Xiamen, the first office complex for the biggest sanitaryware firm in China. In addition, the firm won the competition to rejuvenate the historic Selman Stërmasi Stadium and its surrounding in the heart of Tirana, Albania. 

Project facts

Project name: Lyon Bridge

Architects: OMA

Location: Lyon, France

Client: SYTRAL Mobilités

Year: 2025

Partner: Reinier de Graaf

Associate: Gilles Guyot

Project Architect: Anton Anikeev

Team: Yasemin Parlar, Francois Riollot, Suet Ying Yuen Visualization: Stefania Trozzi, Diego Iacono

Model: Tijmen Klone, Marc Heumer, Arthur Wong

Collaborators

Engineering: WSP

Heritage specialist: DDA Landscape Architects: MRP Lighting Design: Les Éclaireurs 

Renderings © OMA & HISM.

> via OMA

bridge concept Lyon OMA