The city of São Paulo does not have manybridges for the exclusive us of pedestrians and cyclists.Located in a region where a pollutedriver offers no transport or leisure opportunities, broad express roads carryheavy traffic and public transport is difficult to access, the Bayer Bridge is animportant element in overcoming these urban barriers, connecting the two banksof the Guarapiranga canal, between the Pinheiros River and GuarapirangaReservoir, in São Paulo.Destined for pedestrians and cyclists,the Bayer Bridge allows for direct access to train and metro stations, as wellas for the construction of a bicycle path along the bank of the PinheirosRiver, serving as a reference point for the transformation and recovery of thisdilapidated landscape based on a new vision of urban infrastructure.Bayer, through a partnership with thepublic authority, hired LoebCapote Arquitetura e Urbanismo to solve thatchallenge. The solution found by the architects was conceptually inspired bythe “Vitoria Régia” (Amazon Water Lily)The central element of the bridge comprises two circular, metal islands with diameters of 18 meters and featuring regional vegetation. They are supported on concrete caissons two meters in diameter and the bridge spans approximately 90 meters in all.These islands introduced a newrelationship between the city’s inhabitants and the river, creating areas forrest and taking in the views, thus bringing people closer to the landscape. In order to allow for continuednavigation of the canal without the need for costly and large scale structures,the bridge is suspended only 3 meters above the river and can be opened in themiddle. This design encourages the use of the river for urban transport andleisure.The Eco Commercial Building is part ofBayer's worldwide program of sustainable buildings and lies next to the bridge.It was also designed by LoebCapote Arquitetura e Urbanismo. The building employsmore than 20 environmentally efficient concepts and technologies and togetherwith the Bayer Bridge, was granted the LEED atinum rating LEED by the USGreen Building Council: the first time it has been awarded in Brazil.
IAI Best Architecture Award
Winners：Loeb Capote
Brazil
