Wood Bridge In Netherland

Commissioned by the Province of Friesland, Oak (Onix and Achterbosch Architecture) has developed a road bridge that connects 2 districts of Sneek on either side of the A7 motorway. The bridge was designed for a municipality that wished to establish a new city marker along the motorway. Framework The Department of Public Works, the user of the bridge, stated that it wished to use more wood in its constructions.

We regarded it as important to elaborate the wooden bridge in such a way that it would be both recognizable and new to Sneek. The contours call to mind the traditional cheese-cover farmhouses of Friesland; the construction evokes reminiscences of the building expertise that it still abundantly present in the old city; the wooden beams reflect the shipbuilding industry, with Sneek as the water recreation city par excellence in the North Netherlands. All these aspects led to the first uncovered wooden bridge in the heaviest load class. This bridge is not only a novelty for the Netherlands but also for countries such as Canada, Norway and Switzerland where the covered bridge is a well-known feature. The bridge consists of Accoya wood, an acetylated type of wood that has been produced in a factory in Arnhem for around one year now. The acetylation of wood is a process that makes wood almost imperishable. The design of the bridge is a fusion of infrastructure, construction, art and architecture. As a component of the renewed A7 motorway, the wooden bridge was envisaged at two positions.