Wenduine Bridge

Client

Vlaams Gewst, AMDK

Location

Wenduine, Belgium

Completed

October 2013
The Wenduine bridge provides a safe traverse over a busy motorway.

This 83 meter long 4,4 meter wide bridge, collects timber from the sea and combines it into a randomly seemed organised FSC - timber layered truss. Conceptually, the arrangement of wooden beams and interspersed steel supports are likened to pieces of driftwood that have washed ashore, in this way the bridge anchors itself to the dune landscape.

Structure

Based on forces elements are increased in size, angles and rhythm of the diagonals and depth of truss altered to respond to forces and create the random organisation.
The elements are cleverly layered, in 6 planes, allowing the truss also to vary in depth. This gives possibility to achieve the same structural response with a completely different Architectural character / design.

Voor ons mocht de brug geen louter esthetische houten borstwering zijn. Onze insteek was: hoe onregelmatig regelmatig kun je ermee construeren? Wij vonden het nooit ver genoeg gaan, de constructeurs altijd ver genoeg.

Maarten Voorde overtuigd van een houten brug.

Fabrication

The bridge itself is supported by several concrete bases and its frame constructed in several sections, the bolted truss ends and random positioning of an immense number of joints creates an intricate and highly complex construct. The wooden elements are positioned close to each other or, loaded or doubled in areas where the tension is high – such as above the gates supporting the bridge and in the middle of the span between the supports.

The new bridge, a true “landmark” leads holiday makers to a panoramic lookout over the dune, sea and the polder of Uitkerken.

Landezine

The bridge itself is supported by several concrete bases and its frame constructed in several sections, the bolted truss ends and random positioning of an immense number of joints creates an intricate and highly complex construct. The wooden elements are positioned close to each other or, loaded or doubled in areas where the tension is high – such as above the gates supporting the bridge and in the middle of the span between the supports.

The bridge itself is supported by several concrete bases and its frame constructed in several sections, the bolted truss ends and random positioning of an immense number of joints creates an intricate and highly complex construct.