The Need
The bridge is located in south Netanya, crossing over Ben Gurion Street.
Its role is to provide a linking axis for pedestrians and cyclists between the Winter Lake Reserve in the east and the Iris Reserve in west, in addition to connecting east and west neighborhoods to Ben Gurion Street.
The Vision
Our vision was to provide a continuous connection to the existing and planned trails in the nature reserves with minimal intrusions to the reserves themselves.The Iris Reserve is part of the Israel National Trail and linking the Winter Lake to it can expand and enrich the trail. We also wanted to create a continuous path, which separates visitors from the bustle of the highway, and evokes a sense of continuity with the nature reserves; at the same time imparting ecological values to the population passing on the bridge.
The bridge is envisioned as an icon located at the entrance to the city where it is visible, from different POVs, to those both passing on the bridge and crossing underneath it, in all four directions.
The Design
At the heart of our design was the idea to create a structure that relays perpetual motion from different POVs, using a complex system composed of interconnecting spine, vertebrae and ribs, much like a living organism.
We also wanted to utilize the local topography in order to gradually expose visitors to the landscape, where at its peak they can observe the whole outline of the bridge from the west, set against a backdrop of the sea and the Iris Reserve. Furthermore, we maintained favorable slopes for visitors, by making use of the highest point in the eastern wall of Ben Gurion Street for connecting the bridge.
When planning the bridge we took into consideration its appearance both during the day and at night.
