Bridge Village

The Old Lidingö Bridge is one of Stockholm’s most beautiful bridges. Built between 1917 and 1925 it’s lattice structure resembles the Eiffel Tower and features an arched steel truss that begins the connection between Stockholm and the island of Lidingö. Unfortunately, the bridge was in a state of disrepair and the local council decided to demolish it, citing the high costs of repair as a key reason.

When we first lived in Stockholm our route to work and study took us across the bridge each day. We walked the bridge more than 500 times each year and fell in love with its striking steel arch, its tranquil waterside location and beautiful west facing views.

Our love and architectural understanding of the bridge has inspired us to come up with a proposal for saving the Old Lidingö Bridge from demolition.

Our plan was to build 50 premium west facing apartments inside the structure of the bridge and to create a pedestrian park, in the vein of the Highline in Manhattan, on the bridge above them.

un.se and partners looked for the best place to relocate this historical bridge and build the park and apartments, which would extend the bridge’s life for another 120 years.

Credits:
Project owner and developer: un.se
Partners in charge: Filipe Balestra, Sara Göransson
Bridge architecture: Filipe Balestra and Sara Göransson with Takuma Tsuji, Justin Paul Ware, Rémy Turquin, Martinho Pita, João Albuquerque, Stephanie Edwards, David Relan, Karina Vissonova, João Esteves, Kathrine Rasmussen, Kristina Bramstorp, Sophie Mønster Nykjær, Guilherme Pinto, Tiago Lucena, Carolina Cantante, Marie-Louise Hellgren, Simone Back Prochnow
Bridge design: Balmond & Adão – António Adão da Fonseca, Cecil Balmond, Renato Bastos, Tiago Alves
Contractor: Serneke – Fredrik Jonsson, Victor Julin
Risks and fire consultant: Brandskyddslaget – Staffan Bengtsson, Erik Midholm
Accessibility: Elena Siré
Environmental consultant: Iterio – Pernilla Troberg
Legal: Eversheds-Sutherland – Tord Svensson, Johan Kennemyr
Bridge relocation: Marine Group – Jan Lindbäck
Sales: Residence Christie’s