With a total length of 283 meters, Onda Atlántica footbridge spans over public spaces without any apparent tectonic effort. It showcases three dramatic 63 meters spans without any intermediate supports denoting an unexpected sense of lightness. Its undulating shape, resulting originally from site constraints, dodge the existing trees while improves the structure performance allowing a design with no expansion joints

The V-shaped profile is the result of the need to mitigate the acoustic impact from the highway underneath, allowing views onto the city above while providing natural light over the entire path. The shape is perceived two-dimensionally at certain angles, creating the illusion of a curved sheet of paper. The result is a highly innovative structural system, an extremely efficient triangular profile shape not common in the world of bridges engineering, capable of spanning the required curved distances with a great performative agenda and a minimalistic aesthetic

The programmatic requirements for pedestrian, cyclists and accessible crossing are resolved with a unique and simple infrastructure, avoiding any differentiated elements such as stairs and auxiliary elevators

The bridge becomes a large urban sculpture for the city, penetrating both plazas at its landings portraying the illusion of continuation underneath them. Crossing becomes a new experience for its visitors, the bridge is a new exciting in-movement lookout whose profile is perceived as a movie frame displaying a moving city

Onda Atlántica footbridge is located at an isthmus whose tides used to cross over not long time ago. Urban development had progressively distanced them away. With the goal to develop its waterfront with recreational and leisure activities, the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria established a global urban strategy to again reconnect Las Canteras beach with the Port Area and this bridge is the first step for this new city development

With 3 meters wide and a maximum slope of 6%, the floor level of this footbridge reaches a maximum height of 7.60 meters above street level becoming a new viewing point for the city. It also allows a minimum gauge at the highway of 5.50m, exceeding up to 6 meters at some points

The architects developed a structural scheme inspired from naval engineering designs, adopting a system of ribs or frames arranged every 3.2 meters while tied-up by 10-12mm steel plates. The 18 pieces that made up the final structure, weighting up to 40 tons a piece, where assembled at a metallurgical shop in Seville to be then transported by ship to the site. All the components that conform this footbridge have an structural performance – except for the handrails, resulting into a very efficient and sturdy design. A 3 layer- paint with metallic finish helps, depending on daylight, to fade within the city and ensure protection against the highly corrosive maritime surroundings

Two public spaces have been redesigned to accommodate the footbridge landings. On one side, a fluid plaza receives all the converging pedestrian traffic with green undulating shapes designed to be seen from above turning it into a horizontal vegetal painting. On the other side, a non-walkable landscape design reproduces a volcanic topography reclaiming rocks from the neighboring Isleta mountain

About Onda Arquitectura & Javier Haddad
Javier Haddad, Project Director
Javier Haddad is an architect and urban planner with experience in projects of recognized international prestige. At Apple California, he worked as a Design Manager designing the Apple Retail Stores for the company’s expansion in Europe and South America, of note the Madrid Puerta del Sol store , the downtown The Hague location and Rio de Janeiro.

Likewise, he has collaborated in architectural study winners of the Pritzker Prize (the Nobel Prize for Architecture), including Kazuyo Sejima + Ryue Nishizawa / SANAA, RE X and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), where he designed buildings such as the New Museum in New York and the multi-use Museum Plaza complex that houses luxury housing, a Westin hotel, an office building, a university, commercial spaces and a museum of contemporary art.

In the academic field, Javier Haddad has participated as a professor at TU Wien University, Vienna and has been invited to do studio reviews at various American universities including the University of Berkeley in California and Syracuse in New York. With visual artist Haluk Akakce he produced two video installations that were exhibited in rooms such as the Whitney Museum and the Deitch Projects Gallery as well as other galleries around the world.

Project: Onda Atlántica Footbridge
Location: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, SPAIN
Promoter: City Council of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Architect: Onda Arquitectura + Checa Arquitectura
Team: Javier Haddad, Ramón Checa, Luis González, Carlos Fuente Structural Engineer: IngZero – Ingenierií Zero
Structural Design Consultant: Feroher
Metallurgical Shop: Megusa
Budget: 3,054,000 euros (Footbridge) 876,307 euros (Plaza) Length: 283 m

Photo credits: Iwan Baan, Javier Haddad

MADRID Paseo de los Portones 7, of 2 28005 Madrid tlf +34.639.629.429
LAS PALMAS c/ Leon y Castillo 35, 4-A 35003 Las Palmas de GC tlf +34.630.635.721 www.onda-arquitectura.com

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