Gottlieb Paludan Architects has been selected as winners in the competition to design a new entrance  area and a new bridge for Tyresta; 1.970 hectares of national park Southeast of Stockholm, Sweden.

Gottlieb Paludan Architects’ design proposal has been selected among 27 entrants, in an open competition to design a new entrance area and a bridge between Alby Nature Reserve and Tyresta National Park. The 90m bridge will cross Nyforsviken and act as the northern entrance to the national park. The project is slated for completion in the spring of 2021.

Tyresö Municipality requested a design which takes into consideration the area’s unspoiled nature. The new main entrance to Tyresta National Park commences a route through an altering landscape consisting of both cultural landscape and a pristine nature reserve containing virgin forest. The bridge crossing Nyforsviken will be an integrated part of the natural path through the national park. The design, therefore, respects the surrounding landscape and relies on a thorough and comprehensive understanding of the existing qualities. “We strive to make our solution appear as if it was already there and everything new that we create – especially the bridge - look as if it has been taken directly out of the mountain. Anything new is only added to reinforce and emphasize what already exists,” explains Thomas Bonde-Hansen, Head of Design at Gottlieb Paludan Architects.

The bridge is designed with a straight line without supporting structures and constructed with prestressed tension rods drilled into the  rock, and stabilized by a concrete bridge span, while the railings are made of stainless steel – sturdy materials that will ensure longevity and minimal consumption of materials. Gottlieb Paludan Architects’ design is described by the jury as "a bridge with a distinct design that does not compete with the pristine environment more than necessary".

The new entrance areas encompass a large main entrance from the West and a small entrance from the East. The main entrance will offer parking for cars, motorbikes, tourist busses etc. and will be linked with a new information station and a network of trails including Sörmlandsleden, Sweden’s longest hiking trail. The eastern entrance will offer parking for cars and bikes and will be connected to an open cultural landscape with a cluster of old buildings, including Alby Farm and Vicarage.

Gottlieb Paludan Architects has extensive experience with bridge design, and some recent examples are pedestrian footbridges for Network Rail in the UK, Byens Bro – a cycle bridge in Odense, Denmark and Loftesnes Bro in Sogndal, Norway. Likewise, our landscape architects are very experienced in the careful  integration of infrastructure solutions into vulnerable, natural landscapes.