The new bicycle and footbridge is located in the middle of the Watersportbaan, a rowing practice ground in the Belgian city of Ghent.
The new bridge is part of the F400 bicycle highway around Ghent.
Visually, the location of the bridge forms a very unique image in the urban landscape of Ghent. Due to the great transparency of the bridge, the long perspective is not blocked, but is even enhanced by the resulting mirror image.
It would have been too easy to use the handrail as a lighting support: but because of the high transparency of the bridge we would see at night only a horizontal light line which does not correspond with the structural logic of the artwork. Instead we propose a lighting concept which “underlines” the beauty of the arch. The lighting is placed just above the road surface, at the intersection of the deck and the sloping walls.
The upward light translates the underlying structural forces, and visualize these.
Because we light the complete surface of these inclined structural planes, they will serve as a reflector, fulfilling three tasks:
-giving the feeling entering a welcoming well-lit space
-giving the necessary light for recognizing the other passerby
-giving a minimal required average in the vertical planes of 1lux
The lighting fixtures are strategically placed so that the light will never radiate directly outside the volume of the bridge with respect to the underlying aquatic ecosystem.
The fixtures are contained in a stainless metal tube, which is additionally protected at the top by a metal cover. As a result, the light sources are never directly visible.
The lighting fixtures that illuminate the walls are positioned at the solid parts of the walls.
The lighting equipment that illuminates the road section is positioned behind the lowest part of the openings in the walls. In both cases no light escapes beyond the bridge.
At the end of the structural planes a small overlap of 50mm is made, in order to catch the light, accentuating the arch. This inventive intervention is a textbook example of collaboration between the structural engineer and the lighting designer. Due to the position of the light catcher, the upward light is neatly stopped, the arc is sharply defined.
Linear lighting is placed underneath the deck, creating a secure place near the quay and will lift visually the bridge from the ground.
The light colour of all cycle paths around Ghent is required to be illuminated with the light color of 3000K.
However, the walls of the bridge are painted light blue, which is why we have exceptionally illuminated them with a slightly colder light (4000K) for correct colour rendering.
Mixing two light colors within the same project is rather daring and unusual, but the result is surprisingly enchanting.
Light levels comply with the requirements according the european road lighting standard: EN 13201-2:
