The Danube bridge project is set to become the largest upcycling project of its kind! The City of Linz in Austria is having a creative contest to solve the challenge of how to upcycle its 120 year-old bridge. This public innovation project is aimed at architects, engineers, designers and artists from Linz, Austria as well as the rest of the world. There’s €10,000 in prize money available. How would you best upcycle an old bridge?
Linz is the third largest city in Austria, with a population of 198,000. A long-time industrial hub, in 1897 Linz had a railway bridge constructed. The bridge spans Europe’s second-longest river, the Danube. After close to 120 years, the bridge can no longer accommodate the needs of the city, and is now at the end of its technical life span. In order to further develop, the city of Linz is planning to build a more modern bridge in its place.
Linz is asking the creative community to come up with innovative ideas to preserve elements of the old bridge, and upcycle it into a functional public space.
The Danube bridge project is open to ideas from around the world. 27 complex architectural solutions have already been submitted in the online campaign, which runs until August 31st.
The Danube bridge project brief asks designers to create an innovative concept to upcycle elements of the old bridge in Linz. Entrants may choose from 3 public spaces where the upcycled concept can be installed:
a. The Donaulände public park
b. The Linz port area
c. The mouth of the Traun river
Want to enter the competition? The elements of the 393m (1289 ft) old steel bridge should be central to your urban development concept. It’s up to you whether you work with individual parts or with entire bridge sections, as long as your design pays respect to the original bridge construction. The end-product should benefit the people of Linz – whether it be a sculpture, a playground, an urban garden – the sky is the limit.
This is your opportunity to upcycle an old railway bridge in an innovative and creative way and to present your concept to the public.
What is your best Danube bridge project idea? Tell us in the comments!
Enter the competition here.
