Inspired by boats, ‘circle bridge’ opens in Copenhagen

A pedestrian "circle bridge" has opened in Copenhagen, inspired by Danish-Icelandic artist's Olafur Eliasson's childhood in Iceland.

Photo: Reuters/Soren Svendsen/Nordea-fonden/Handout

 

Reminiscent of sailing boats, the circle bridge, or Cirkelbroen, is made of five circular platforms in different sizes, each with its own "mast", according to Danish foundation Nordea-fonden, which commissioned its construction.

Spanning the Danish capital's Christianshavn canal, the bridge, some 40 meters long (131 feet), has a section that swings open to allow boats to pass through.



"One of the main sources of inspiration was for me my childhood in Iceland where the harbor, ... where I spent a lot of time as my father was a sailor, sometimes filled up with boats so you could cross the harbor by going from one deck to the next," Eliasson said in a video by Nordea-fonden.

 

#cirkelbroen breathing in the city! photo by the great Anders Sune Berg

A photo posted by Studio Olafur Eliasson (@studioolafureliasson) on

Aug 24, 2015 at 4:24am PDT

Born in 1967 in Copenhagen, Eliasson is known for his 2008 "The New York City Waterfalls" project where four waterfalls were installed along Manhattan and Brooklyn shorelines and his 2003 "The Weather Project" at London's Tate Modern, where he used lamps, mirrors and mist to represent the sun and sky.

Some 5,000 pedestrians and cyclists are expected to cross Cirkelbroen daily, according to Nordea-fonden, which has handed over the bridge's operation and maintenance to Copenhagen city. — Reuters