footbridge over the GROSSSEE POND, pfyn forest, competition, 2nd place

client :

canton of valais, roads and watercourse service

programme :

footbridge over the GROSSSEE POND

dates :

competition november 2006

civil engineer:

guscetti & tournier sa, carouge (ge)

collaboration :

françois meyer architecture, sion

the pfyn forest, crossed by winding paths that follow the contours, is an attractive place for walking and exploring. the footbridge over the grosssee pond is treated as an extension of one of these paths, both in terms of its route and its cladding and creates observation places.

in this natural protected area, the scale of intervention is deliberately modest, without apparent technical confrontation – with reduced spans (11.5 m) and a simple static system. On the ground, only a few poles merge the pine trunks in the deep forest. the safety barriers, made of corrugated sheets, are perforated with a pattern suggesting the branches of the woods. they vary in height and density, depending on the desired level of protection and transparency.