CIRKELBROEN AT CHRISTIANSHAVNS KANAL, COPENHAGEN (+ VIDEO) / OLAFUR ELIASSON

Cirkelbroen, a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists, crosses Copenhagen’s Christianshavns Kanal. Based on the historically and culturally defined local context, the bridge takes the sailing ship as a visual starting point. It consists of five staggered circular platforms of various sizes, each with their own ‘mast,’ rising up to between 17.5 and 25 metres above the platforms. The platforms – extending across the 35-metre-wide canal – ‘sail’ Copenhageners dry-shod across the water. The bridge can contract to open the passage for larger boats to pass. 

 

While base and masts of the bridge are made from steel, the handrails are made from wood. Steel cables make for ‘rigging’ and form a circular screen around each mast. The bridge reflects on the interspaces between city spaces, and on the friction that water constitutes. Rather than offering the fastest possible passage across the canal, the bridge will create small variations in the way of seeing the city and open up a renegotiation of public space.