Lugnersteg

The LUGNERSTEG is a glazed suspension bridge that leads pedestrians across the outer ring road (Gürtel) into the newly emerging cinema and entertainment center of the builder Lugner. From the Burggasse subway station, visitors are taken up 8 meters in height above the Gürtel via escalators. The trapezoidal platform of the bridge offers a view of the Gürtel and extends to the Vienna Woods, providing access to the restaurant level of the cinema center. Later, there are plans to create a continuous, comfortable, and safe path through the shopping passages of the Lugner City all the way to the Stadthalle, without having to cross any streets.

The supporting structure is anchored by two steel cables from the cinema building, aiming to signify that it is not just a bridge over the road but, above all, the gateway to the new entertainment center.

The architectural concept for shaping the bridge involves folding the surface, similar to Japanese "Origami." In its unfolded state, the geometry of the surface, along with the steel substructure, forms a regular, rectangular grid. Only after folding does it acquire irregularities and oblique lines, creating a tension between a simple principle and a complex outcome.

For the glazing of the bridge, insulated glass is used, with a smooth exterior surface and the glass panes separated by silicone joints. To achieve maximum transparency, the largest production formats of laminated safety glass (5.2 x 2m) were chosen for the glazing, selecting "extra white glass." The entire bridge is enveloped in glass.

The architects of the bridge, Aneta Bulant-Kamenova and Klaus Wailzer, were chosen by the builder Lugner for their exceptional achievements in innovative glass construction. The architectural studio BULANT & WAILZER received world-renowned international awards for their elegantly all-glass winter gardens, including the DuPont Benedictus Award in 1998, the first time awarded in the German-speaking region, as well as the American Solutia Design Award in 2003, the first time awarded to European architects.