This is a great example of playful, yet smart design that I think will be really successful as a piece of infrastructure as well as civic identity. NEXT architects designed the Melkwegbrug bridge in the Netherlands to accomodate pedestrian, bike, and water traffic (the lower bridge splits and pivots) and to connect the older part of Purmerend with the new. I think it is beautifully executed as a sculptural form (and quite diagrammatic in organization), but it is also clever in providing varied experiences. Low speed = high elevation (and view), and vice versa. Users will play on this bridge without even knowing they are using a piece of infrastructure. I think really successful infrastructural public works , Like Ghery's bridge in Millenium Park or Weis Manfredi's Olympic Sculpture Park, are such a joy to use you don't even know they are providing a very utilitarian function. Nicely done.
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