ALLAMEH Pedestrian Bridge

Project Type: Pedestrian Bridge- Urban Space ; Design: Karand Architectural Group ; Client: Tehran Municipality

Commissioned by Tehran municipality, Karand architectural group developed design alternatives for a pedestrian bridge in district 2 of Tehran. Spanning over Hashemi Rafsanjani highway, the bridge connects existing neighborhoods; it not only facilitates better pedestrian and bicycle connections but also integrates the whole residential area in this part of the city.

The construction of the Hashemi Rafsanjani highway has created a gap in the urban fabric of the Saadat Abad district. This 46.4-meter-long pedestrian bridge aimed to reconnect two separated parts of Allameh Tabatabaie street and sit harmoniously within the neighborhood. It is a new accessible gateway that replace a decaying and inaccessible pedestrian bridge and broadens pedestrian networks.

The bridge widens at the north, from 15 m to 32 m, in order to place more people and activities. Its total area is about 800 m2.  As there is 4.5 m height difference between the north and south walls of highway, a curved form was applied in the bridge section. Furthermore, the maximum and minimum heigh of the bridge surface from the street level are 9.30 m and 3.8 m, respectively.

Instead of the common handrails, there are two shells made of metal mesh at the edges, and the green spaces and flower shops are placed between these shells. The total area of flower shops is 220 m2. The exterior shell has a fixed form and the interior shell fluctuates, so the distance between these two shells varies in different parts of the bridge. placing green elements at the edges will reduce the noise and air pollution.

The construction of Allameh bridge will not only facilitate the pedestrian movement but also revitalize the lost spaces around the highway, such as Allameh park. The bridge will be a place to both pass and stay. As the project is located in one of the busiest places in the city, the bridge will function as a public realm. It will be an attractive place, and a great destination for people to walk, interact and spend their leisure time, and allows them to pause and appreciate the northern mountains’ landscape too.