IN OUR SIGHTS: THE SPREE RIVER

connecting people

The Spree River crosses Berlin from the south-east to the north-west and is an integral part of the city. But it is also a barrier. Various bridges support the merging of the separated areas into one metropolis. The bridge between Treptow and Köpenick, for example: the Minna Todenhagen Bridge. It is a memorial to the politician who lobbied for just social policies and founded the German Workers’ Welfare Association (1880–1950).

paving the way

The chosen design combines the restrained look of a slab bridge with the typologically more common aesthetic of several shallow bridge arches. The varying span lengths highlight the spans over the water as the longest and most important section of the river crossing. The progressively and degressively changing span lengths and arches impart a harmonic and dynamic look to the bridge in its city environment.

creating construction culture

The start and the end of the bridge are marked by impressive abutments with illuminated steles. The traffic lanes and the pedestrian and cycle paths on either side of the bridge are located on two separate superstructures at a distance of 3.9 m. The result is a continuous opening, the so-called ‘bridge eye’. Each superstructure possesses two steel truss girders of variable height. Trusses were chosen to achieve maximum transparency and levity. A glimpse of the Spree River can thus be caught even without looking over the bridge railing.