Sustainable wooden bridge designed as elevated inner city park

It’s bold, large and impressive and sets the tone for future city development in the Netherlands and elsewhere: the Passerelle Zwolle. The train station footbridge is an elevated street and links the historic towns city center with the new development area Hanzekwartier and the green IJssel river landscape.This elevated street has been designed as an inner city park, measuring 130 by 10 metres, elevated above the railway tracks. It has a multipurpose nature, acting both as a direct pedestrian connection and a green recreational area; a place to wander or meet, an outdoor waiting area for the bus and train station and an explosion of nature in the midst of a busy transport hub.The bridge deck layout has specifically been designed as a series of different environments, in which the line of view changes as one walks across the S-shaped path. This way, crossing the railway tracks becomes an adventure. The footbridge design is inclusive, meaning that it is accessible to everyone, safe and appealing.Sustainability was key in the entire design process and resulted in a loadbearing wooden bridge deck and ground breaking wooden elevator shafts.