It became clear how the new pedestrian bridge in Vilnius will look like

 

Preliminary winners of the architectural design competition for the bride over Neris linking capital’s A.Goštauto and Upės streets are becoming clear – expert jury has compiled a list of works in accordance with the competition’s evaluation criteria; at the top of the list is “INHUS Engineering” and “DO architects” teams’ concept named “Alberto tiltas” followed by bridge named “Neries vartai” created by the architects from “Studija 501”, “SRP projektas”, “LT projektai” and “Mutuss”. Third – “TEC Infrastructure” with architectural bridge concept “Lux semita”. In total, 9 bridge concepts participated in the competition.

“As the city grows rapidly there is also an increasing demand for new convenient city connections not only for vehicles but also for pedestrians or cyclists. This new bridge will connect two important city spaces where hundreds of people work and whose journey home or to work will be radically shortened by the bridge as there won’t be a need to make a long detour. I believe that the new bridge over Neris will not only help to smoothly and harmoniously travel in Vilnius, but also will become an exemplary piece of architecture that will adorn refurbished Neris embankment for many decades,” says the capital’s deputy mayor Vytautas Mitalas.

The bridge will become an important connection for pedestrians and cyclists between rapidly growing Saltoniškės district, Žvėrynas district on the right Neris riverbank and Lukiškės district on the left Neris riverbank. Based on the new master plan for the city of Vilnius it will also be an important part of a bicycle path connection between the centre of Vilnius and western sleeping areas. The bridge will be around 8.5 meters wide: 3 meters will be allocated to pedestrians, 4 meters allocated to cyclists, it’s accesses will also have to be designed while considering pedestrian and cyclist streams and adapted for disabled individuals.

Architectural concepts were selected by the jury that was formed by the Architects’ Association of Lithuania , which evaluated whether the architects managed to ensure safe and convenient cycling between the two streets, to adapt the bridge for special services vehicles, to ensure safe navigation under the bridge, i.e. it is necessary to maintain 30 meters in width and 5 meters in height from river to the bridge at the river’s fairway.

“We have evaluated all 9 architectural concepts for the new bridge over Neris, and now, as stipulated in the tender specifications, there will be qualification assessment of authors’ with the highest rated bridge concepts. We hope to sign the contract with the winners during this year,” said Mindaugas Pakalnis, Chief Architect of the City and member of competition’s jury.

Authors’ concept, which was presented to the competition and best evaluated by the jury, offers linking the riverbanks with the new wooden arch bridge in four points: in the lower and in the upper quay terraces while ensuring a convenient flow of people. Disabled individuals and families with children in strollers will be able to conveniently use the bridge on both upper and lower levels.

The bridge would extend current cyclist path on the western side while stretching towards street intersection on the eastern side where it would extend the pedestrian path and join into the cycling paths’ system.

According to the architects’ concept, bridge’s main structures will be made from local and renewable material – wood, which is the only material that does not release CO2 during the production but rather absorbs it during growth. Symbolically the bridge could become a sort of continuation of Žvėrynas’ wooden architecture.

Finalists’ document submission will be evaluated in the following stage of this open competition, after which it will be clear whether there are any legal obstacles to the publication of the final results and the awarding of monetary prizes to the winners – the first place prize winner would receive 9 thousand euros, second place prize winner would receive 7 thousand euros, third place prize winner would receive 4 thousand euros.

Competition’s winners with the best concept will be awarded a contract. This will be followed by the preparation of the technical project and the publication of tender for construction works.

The council is planning to allocate circa 5 million euros for the construction of the new bridge over Neris. The new pedestrian bridge is going to be built in the next four years.

Architectural competition is organized in cooperation with the Architects’ Association of Lithuania.

Preliminary 3 winners:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/c5cara6jf8kgxoz/AAAkw1rDsmATBzy0oig7VXRca?dl=0

All concepts submitted for the competition can be seen here: http://www.architektusajunga.lt/konkursai/las-konkursai/pesciuju-tilto-architekturinio-konkurso-darbai/

Marketing and Communications Department vrt@vilnius.lt