New Neckar Bridge

The new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is a novel connecting structure for Heidelberg on several levels: It offers a link to the growing districts south of the Neckar River with the Neuenheimer Feld, and thus to the fast-evolving science and research zone complete with residential quarters and leisure-time spaces. At the same time, with the switch to sustainable transportation, it forms an important continuation of the planned swift cycle link from Mannheim to Heidelberg and for the cycle paths via Patrick Henry Village through to Schwetzingen. For the first time in 90 years there will be a new Neckar bridge in Heidelberg, a striking structure that extends far beyond the autobahn access route as far as the new Gneisenaubrücke. This will also ease the strain on the Ernst-Walz Bridge and the Mittermaierstrasse, both of which are subject to heavy traffic.

The exacting infrastructure was designed by a team that is as renowned as it is interdisciplinary at Stuttgart-based engineering office schlaich bergermann partner, working together with Berlin’s LAVA architectural practice and the landscape architects at Latz + Partner in Kranzberg. Their elegant design, which deals so carefully with the urban fabric, firmly won over the jury of experts in the two-phase planning competition. The integrative planning system, conceived and lead-managed by IBA, ensured different interest groups and the local inhabitants were included in the work of preparing the competition and ensured the whole process was of a very high standard.

The winning proposal consists of a refined, almost six-meter-wide bridge that softly spans the riverscape and connects the two parts of the city with its generous curved lines. The countless seats along the bridge create places to meet or rest above the river (complete with a panoramic view of the Old Town) for the first time since the prestigious and highly symbolic »Old Bridge« was erected. Moreover, the planners have succeeded in preserving the great trees on Gneisenauplatz and transforming the plaza into an attractive small park. The so-called Neckar balconies on both riverbanks entice people to tarry a while over or above the river, providing close-to-nature recreational spaces that help foster a clear local identity.