La Rade Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge

The ‘passerelle de La Rade’ is a monolithic construction of dark-coloured reinforced concrete. Its layout obeys the formal links it establishes with the Mont-Blanc bridge and the Ile de Rousseau, downstream of the Rhône, linking it naturally to the fabric of the city and its history, as well as meeting the strict conditions of position it needs to fulfil in its landings.

The bastion of the Ile de Rousseau has the logic of defending the city in a strategic location, the mouth of the Rhône, and therefore manifests itself with strength and sharp geometry. The ‘passerelle de La Rade’ is related to the defensive prow of the bastion, as if magnetically attracted to it. But this geometrical deformation manifests itself in the ‘passerelle’ in the opposite way to Rousseau's Island. It does so in a convex way; its mission is not to repel the enemy but to bring citizens together, to bring them together to chat and enjoy themselves in front of Lake Geneva.

The heavy cycle traffic associated with road traffic is located on the pavements of the Mont-Blanc bridge. This simplifies traffic and minimises crossings between pedestrians and cyclists, allowing cyclists to make all possible movements and turns on the city level without hindering road traffic or disturbing pedestrians. In this way, the ‘passerelle’ simplifies its section to be exclusively pedestrian. But above all, we propose to build a bridge for walkers, who can occasionally enjoy the extraordinary views over the city of Geneva, Lake Geneva and the Chablais Alps.