The proposed network of urban linkages is manifested by architectural interventions that respond to their local context and seek to enhance the experience and enjoyment of residents and visitors. These architectural ‘links’ comprise: a continuous cycle route, a pedestrian footpath, cycle ramps and vertical connections that focus around new architectural typologies: – the elevated piazza within Piazza Tirana with its ground level open air concourse; – the ‘twinning’ of cyclist and pedestrian by means of parallel and interchangeable routes (for example stairs alongside cycle ramps) – the ramped staircase that encircles the bridge’s mast and connects from foot bridge, to linear park level and then to the M4 station entrance. – the language of curved cycle ramps that connect to existing routes and allow for new connections, activites and developments.
The three elevated structures (the raised piazza, the suspended footbridge, and the floating, interconnecting cycle paths) respond to their specific contexts and at the same time prioritise the design of new landscape conditions that reinforce the notion of a green link across the various infrastructures so that the flow of pedestrians and cyclists takes form in response to these emerging conditions. Points of intersection between levels, via stairs, ramps or elevators become critical moments that will reveal the complexity of the layered network and provide moments of intense experience and enjoyment for pedestrians and cyclists.
