Rio-Niteroi Bridge: Beyond Infrastructure

At first sight, the Rio-Niteroi bridge, is seen just as a utilitarian road transport link, despite its iconic setting. But, by creating 3 new narrative connections, it is possible to identify and draw on the significant potential for resignification and conversion of the functionality of the structure, enhancing its social and economic contribution.

The creation of 3 strategic installations on the megastructure that spans the Bay and are currently off the beaten track, isolated from the surrounding area. The strategic installations will open up new means for bridge-users to connect with the SEA, the AIR and the LAND. The SEA Platform, is a Suspended Linear Park located under the Bridge and above the Port Zone in Rio de Janeiro, in the Caju neighborhood. It offers direct access to the Dom João VI Royal Baths, a historical building that is rarely visited, despite its strategic location where public and private spaces overlap. The project presents an unique opportunity to explore and develop public spaces in a historical region that currently lacks access to open air public facilities. The AIR Platform, situated in the Central Span of the Bridge, reveals the scenic viewpoint potential of it, by means of a structure designed to enable users to appreciate the breathtaking scenery from the only vantage point in the Guanabara Bay in which it is possible to view the landscape without seeing the Bridge itself . The AIR Platform also enables users to visit box girder, designed to generate the least visible impact on the image of the bridge. In other words, the aim is to subtly reinvent its form, transforming pre-defined concepts by escaping the common ground of the view. The LAND Platform, situated under the tangent pillar on the Mocanguê Island is designed to simultaneously act as access, filtering, passageway and support - providing services to users, in the form of shops, a restaurant, restrooms, etc. as well as acting as a point of control for visitor access. This area has enormous potential in terms of sightseeing and leisure facilities in a hybrid sharing space with the Brazilian Navy, which has a Base nearby. In sum, the project seeks to develop, by a minimal intervention, new narratives that encourages people to visit the Bridge for pleasure and that alters perceptions of the space, enabling the identification of potentialities, the transformation of urban spaces and the regeneration of public areas, based on a resilient, sustainable and economically viable way.