Pasarela Klenzesteg

The requirement to save all the existing trees determines the position of the Klenzesteg bridge on the two banks of the river Isar, both of which have densely wooded slopes, the left bank in Glockenbachviertel mainly with large willows and the right bank in Au-Haidhausen with lime and ash trees. However, the two banks of the river are different. On the right bank, the Klenzesteg provides access to the banks of the Isar, which is used by thousands of citizens in summer, and provides a view of the towers of St. Maximilian's Church and the historic centre of Munich. On the left bank, the bridge starts between the trees that conceal its abutment and swiftly swoops over the river.

The bridge has no other technical features other than rigorous calculation and design to optimise its structure and make it as slender as possible. It is a box girder with two steel beams of variable depth supported on reinforced concrete piers in the shape of a ‘V’. This metal box is wrapped on the outside with polished stainless steel parts that will make the Klenzesteg sometimes invisible, sometimes greyish and at certain times luminous and shiny. This reflective cladding has its roots in the baroque architecture of the city of Munich, which plays with perspectives and the changing effects of light. The interior of the bridge is clad with deep red wooden planks.

The slightly broken outline of the bridge, both in plan and in elevation, produces rich visual effects for pedestrians and cyclists; accentuated perspectives and trompe l'oeil and the contrast between the metallic, reflective exterior of indefinite and variable appearance and the red wooden interior will make the experience of crossing the Isar memorable; and, at the same time, the bridge will go almost unnoticed in the cityscape.