Pedestrian Bridge Over The Carpinteira

The sinuous and segmented design of the bridge winds above the valley, along a distance of about 220m. The central takes a path perpendicular to the line of the valley. The other two sections are inflected and oriented towards their anchoring points. The connection between the two points is no longer the shortest distance between them. The tense geometry of its layout interferes with visual orientation and with the perception of dominating heights of “serra da estrela”, on one side, and with the vastness of “cova da beira” on the other.

This way the Portuguese architect João Luís Carrilho da Graça describes the Pedestrian Bridge Over The Carpinteira. He developed it with a double curve to increase delicacy of the plain and smart design, being less rectilinear. I also would like to emphasize the continuity of the line horizontal to the two central columns, which makes it more singular for me.

The interior deserves a mention too, with a great finish made in a very resistant wood-polymer composite, hiding a smooth illumination at night that you can see through this video.