The Amsterdam Cycling Bridge is one of the Non Architecture “H2O” competitions.
We can consider “architecture” everything that has already been designed and/or built. That would define a realm of conventional solutions, often repeated in a self-referential system. We imagined a counterpart, a “non architecture”. A world of unexplored designs and countless possibilities, that if found, could enlarge and change permanently the boundaries of architecture. A universe of chances and opportunities never challenged by architects before. A limitless field of investigation that includes everything that is not architecture, yet.
In this competitions participants were asked to design a cycling bridge in the context of Amsterdam, an effective connection over the River Ij for pedestrians and cyclists - 1 design expressed in 3 drawings.
Forge Bridge; the Story of the Floating Canal
keywords: #hydropower #beautificationandpublicspace #mobility #manmadecanal #landreclamation
Netherlands, 14th Century: Erosion has impacted the coastline of the Netherlands creating the need to protect the settlement from the sea. Infrastructure systems are created to manage the changing sea levels and becomes the foundation of land reclamation projects.
Helvoirt, 20 September 1972: Vic Langenhoff publishes a manifesto in De Tijd calling for parents whose children were victims of automobile accidents to create pressure groups for change. This starts a national movement that advocates safer bicycle paths for children and cyclists of the Netherlands.
Amsterdam-noord. 2025: Brian van der Heijden, a resident of the Van der Pek neighborhood, crosses under the River Ij by way of the route available in the new Forge Bridge. The bridge uses land reclamation practices rooted in Dutch history, and the language of the cyclist that is prominent in Amsterdam’s culture in an intersecting canal that floats above a constructed park. Ships are put in a lock that elevate it safely across the canal and continue along the Ij. The park bisects the Ij with two angled dams forging a path connecting the two communities putting emphasis on the person over vehicular traffic. Brian emerges below from the park into the center of Amsterdam.