While concrete and steel remain the most commonly used construction materials, the case is growing for timber’s use on pedestrian and cycle bridges. Khalifa Bokhammas investigates.
As well as having sustainability on its side, timber’s appearance and warmth are difficult to emulate with other materials. This makes it popular with designers that aim to create more natural and organiclooking landmarks. These aesthetic qualities have been harnessed to great effect on the superstructure of a new bridge in western France. The Angers Saint-Laud railway station bridge replaced a badly damaged concrete structure earlier this year and was designed by Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes.