ISSUE 07: BUILT WITH A VIEW
→ Historically, bridges were used as marketplaces, housing, and thoroughfares
→ How might we imagine multi-purpose bridges for the future?
→ Should we build over bridges?
Back in the day, bridges in cities weren’t only used as a means of thoroughfare, but in some notable cases, they actually served as the foundations of houses, markets, and shops. How might we bring back this multi-purpose infrastructure to our cities, and more importantly, should we?
Today, most bridges are utilitarian: concrete spans built to move traffic as efficiently as possible. But as cities face mounting pressure to densify, reclaim space, and create new civic experiences, could bridges once again become more than thoroughfares? Could they return as hubs of life and commerce?
A
What Was
These were called merchant bridges and one of the most famous examples of such a bridge is the old London Bridge, yes the same one that fell down. Waking up to the sound of water flowing. That’s the idyllic version of having a house over the Thames. The reality might have been incredibly foul-smelling and dirty. At least back in the 17c.
These merchant bridges extended the footprint of the city and allowed shopkeepers to target those traveling across the city.
B
What is
The Old London Bridge isn’t the only structure to have supported houses and shops. There’s also the well-known Ponte Vecchio in Florence and some lesser-known examples include the Krämerbrücke in Erfurt, Germany (about 80 people still live on it today).
Krämerbrücke | Via Simon Tunstall (CC-BY-3.0)
Ponte Vecchio
Besides these historical merchant bridges, there are not many (if any) modern day builds that emulate these structures. If you know of any, please let us know.
C
What Next
Multi-use bridges
As cities are growing larger and larger, it makes sense to better use the available space. We should ask ourselves whether bridges can serve as spaces for recreation, living, and working? Reinventing them from simple transport corridors to prime real estate with epic views. A few urbanists and architects are proposing modern equivalents of the London Bridge and Ponte Vecchio.
Back in 1979, architect Steven Holl proposed a new typology for the built environment: an urban bridge housing concept that could be integrated above the roadways of cities. You can read up on his proposal here. His proposal is one way to densify a city without losing the roadways (just losing ground-level sunlight).
Steven Holl’s New York bridge housing proposal.
Here’s one for Paris: shared in 2015, the P9 Project by French architect Stéphane Malka proposes developing a liveable addition to the Pont Neuf in Paris. Imagine the views you’d be able to get from such real estate! Sadly it was only a proposal.
P9 Project | Via Urban Gardens
Similarly, Farrow Partners designed a proposal for updating Toronto’s Bloor Viaduct with housing, retail, and a park. Named the Living Bridge, it looks to capitalize on under-utilized city space. Also living as a proposal, it’s at least gotten people talking.
I think it’s important to note that there are other initiatives that exist that look to save existing bridges from demolition and transform them into living corridors. One such example is Lindigö Bridge Village Proposal by Urban Nouveau for Stockholm’s Gamla Lidingöbron bridge. The project is ongoing and looks to transform an under-utilized bridge into some stylish condominiums. It does look like the project is going ahead.
Living Bridge | Via New in Homes
If we’re serious about rethinking urban land use, bridges could become testbeds for multi-purpose design. Instead of being single-use conduits, they could offer:
Housing with epic views perched above waterways or ravines.
Recreational corridors that layer parks, gardens, and cafés over infrastructure.
Adaptive reuse of old bridges slated for demolition, giving them new civic life.
This isn’t just nostalgia. With pressure for urban density, a desire for unique public spaces, and growing concern for heritage preservation, bridges could be reclaimed as hybrid structures.
D
What if
Seeing these houses built on bridges it makes me think that our cities could gain entire new shopping/living streets perched above ravines, roadways, traintracks, and waterways.
It also brings to mind images of a future city where houses are built above roadways, with autonomous vehicles zipping below them in tunnels (or in between the pillars). It’d be one way to densify a city, right? Probably not the cheapest though, but it’s interesting to think of a city built on archways to facilitate an urban mobility system constructed below!
This provides a provocative way of rethinking how cities grow — not just up into towers, but outward across the voids and spaces left behind.
E
So what
Positives
Better Use of Space
More urban density and better use of space when bridges double as active urban space.
Adaptive Reuse
Reusing existing structures in creative ways is always a bonus. Keep heritage around, but update it a touch.
Negatives
Tricky Utilities
Running electricity, sewers, and water to structures built over a bridge would no doubt complicate matters a bit. Especially as bridges expand and contract with the weather.
Washout Risk
Bridges obviously often span waterways. Rivers that can flood and wash away infrastructure. This no doubt poses significant risks to having buildings constructed on the bridge.
Claustrophobic Cities
Not being able to have any views out or across the city can make it feel rather claustrophobic. In addition, not really knowing if you’re on a normal street or on a bridge street could confuse wayfinding.
Expensive Upkeep
Because bridges are subject to more movement, the buildings, and their own structure would be susceptible to costly repairs. The vibrations of traffic, footfalls, and wind on the deck surface could prove extremely detrimental to any architecture.
Difficult Negotiations
Being a mix of infrastructure and architecture would pose interesting challenges for getting anything like this approved. Would the city own it? Who’s responsible for upkeep?
Other Considerations
Prime Views for the Elite
Only those able to afford living on a bridge would be able to benefit from water-filled views of their surroundings.
Bridges once carried entire communities — bustling streets above flowing rivers. Today, most are stripped down to bare function. But as cities look for creative ways to grow, bridges could once again become living architecture. Whether as boutique housing, cultural hubs, or adaptive reuse projects, they remind us that sometimes it’s just about using what you already have in new ways.