Sweco’s team celebrates their win in the design competition for the Korsholmanpuistikko bridge in Vaasa

The City of Vaasa had organised a design competition for the Korsholmanpuistikko bridge. Three teams were invited to the actual competition from among everyone who had signed up. The competition was won by Sweco’s team. The winning team co-operated successfully with Cederqvist & Jäntti Arkkitehdit on the architecture, with Lighting Design Collective on the lighting art, and with Sipti Oy on the geotechnical engineering.

The subject of the competition was to design a bridge crossing the extension of Korsholmanpuistikko from the centre of Vaasa to Klemettilä, across the railway. The bridge will symbolise the opportunities to expand the city centre: it will give character to the region and act as a beautiful attraction in Vaasa’s new residential area.The jury paid special attention to how the bridge fits into its location and the cityscape, to the technical and economic feasibility of the bridge and to the use of structures as a natural part of urban expression. According to the jury, all entries to the competition were of high quality.The entry of Sweco’s winning team is called Vaaka, and its design is clear and harmonic. The bridge consists of tension bars and two identical arch elements. “The silhouette of the bridge changes when it’s observed from afar and from different angles. This effect is caused by the slope and asymmetrical placement of the arches. When you look at the bridge up close, the gracefulness and dynamism of the arches are emphasised by their triangular cross-section. It’s an arch-supported beam bridge with a composite superstructure,” says Timo Heloaro, bridge designer at Sweco.

Sweco’s experienced bridge designers know that designing a bridge is always a challenge that requires efficient co-operation. “In this project, we once again brought the best experts on aesthetics, design, structural mechanics and construction together and used modern methods for parametrical design and visual modelling. Winning the competition feels amazing, and the credit goes to the entire team,” Heloaro says, summarising the elements that guaranteed the win.

The City of Vaasa will continue the design process of the bridge, together with the winning team.