Copenhagen’s Lille Langebro Swing Bridge
Key facts
Location
Copenhagen, Denmark
Client
Realdania for Københavns Kommune
In Partnership with
Buro Happold, Wilkinson Eyre, Niras, Urban Agency, Speirs & Major
We worked together with Buro Happold, Wilkinson Eyre and Niras to produce the design of this architecturally striking and technically challenging bridge. Our role was to produce the detailed concept design of the operating equipment which allowed the architectural vision to be realised whilst also ensuring that the operating equipment, used to control the 2 central moving decks, is reliable and maintainable.
The two moving spans are mounted on large diameter slewing bearings which have integral teeth. These teeth engage with pinions, driven by four 15kW electric motor gearbox units, resulting in the span rotation. The bridge operating cycle takes 109 seconds to open and 144 seconds to close.
AThe bridge is controlled from the existing and historic copper clad control room for the bridge’s bigger brother, the Langebro bridge. This control position gives an excellent direct line of sight of both the marine channel and also the traffic passing over the bridge. Prior to opening the pedestrian and cycle traffic is cleared from the bridge using a combination of lights and sounders before barriers lower to control the movement of bridge traffic.
The project has won the Award for best Footbridge or lightweight structure as well as the joint Supreme Award for Excellence in Engineering at the IStructE 2021 Awards. In 2022 it won the European Steel Bridge Award in the Cycle and Pedestrian Bridges category, as well as the Moveable Bridge Award at the 2022 Footbridge Conference in Madrid.
It has also been shortlisted for a RIBA International Prize 2021.