Sevilla bridges shading

Sevilla, Spain

Structural typology: TENDER DESIGN
Date: October, 2022
Owner: Ayuntamiento de Sevilla
Scope: tender design

Regarding climate protection for the bridges in the old town of Seville, it involves the construction of canopies, which will evidently change the appearance of these structures, as well as the user experience when crossing them. Each bridge has its unique structural, formal, social, and historical characteristics. Therefore, although general ideas are provided here, it is considered that only through joint work with the administration can a rigorous approach to the solutions be achieved, which must obviously be specific to each bridge.

Initially, two groups of overall solutions have been considered. Firstly, the possibility of creating a removable structure that can be installed annually during the hottest and sunniest period, similar to what is done in some streets of Seville. Another type of solution would be the construction of a permanent pergola system, generally with vegetation that, besides providing shade, would create a microclimate similar to that achieved during the Expo "92. Each of these solutions has its advantages and disadvantages, making it necessary in any case to conduct a thorough study and significant interaction with the Heritage technicians and the Urban Planning Department of Seville.

Other ideas that have been outlined while making the proposals presented below include taking advantage of the installation of shading elements to modify the usable spaces of the bridges, giving more prominence to pedestrians and cyclists. The following lines briefly describe some initial ideas for the bridges in the current batch.