SPACE-The Potential Embodied in Simplicity, from Line to Ring: Simone Veil Bridge

SPACE September 2024 (No. 682)

©JB Menges / Image courtesy of Bordeaux Metropole

On the 6th of July, the opening ceremony of the Simone Veil Bridge, for which OMA’s Rem Koolhaas and Chris van Duijn are general directors and Gilles Guyot is project architect, took place in Bordeaux, France. It included a discussion with Rem, Gilles, and others, as well as a parade on the bridge involving citizens, architects and others, while also holding a talk with Chris. On this basis, I uncover the potential embodied in the seemingly simple design of the Simone Veil Bridge.

Bordeaux is a port city in southwest France. The Garonne River flows to the east of Bordeaux, and along this river, arranged from its top to bottom, are Bordeaux’s landmark Bourse Square, a...

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Architect

OMA (Rem Koolhaas, Chris van Duijn)

Design team

Gilles Guyot, Margarida Amial, Kimiko Bonneau, My-

Location

Bordeaux, Bègles and Floirac in France

Programme

bridge and urban amenities

Site area

bridge deck – 25,000m² / left bank – 6

Structural engineer

EGIS, WSP

Design period

2011 – 2015

Construction period

2016 – 2024

Cost

about 106 million EUR

Client

Bordeaux Métropole

Lighting design and consultant

Les éclaireurs

Landscape architect

Michel Desvigne Paysagiste

Construction and contractors

civil works – Bouygues Travaux Publics R

Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas founded OMA in 1975 together with Elia and Zoe Zenghelis and Madelon Vriesendorp. He graduated from the AA School in London and in 1978 published Delirious New York: A Retroactive Manifesto for Manhattan. In 1995, his book S, M, L, XL summarised the work of OMA in ‘a novel about architecture’. He co-heads the work of both OMA and AMO, the research branch of OMA, operating in areas beyond the realm of architecture. Chris van Duijn became partner in 2014 and is leading OMA’s work in Asia. Joining the practice in 1996, he was involved in many of OMA’s most renowned projects including Universal Studios in Los Angeles, the Prada stores in New York and Los Angeles (2001), Casa da Musica in Porto (2005), and the CCTV Headquarters in Beijing (2012).

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The Potential Embodied in Simplicity, from Line to Ring: Simone Veil Bridge

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