Client
Munich City Council, Department of Building

Architecture
Lang Hugger Rampp, Munich

Civil engineers
SSF Engineers, Munich

Electrical planning
Rücker + Schindele Consulting Engineers Ltd

Project Management (Scheduling, Electrical + Lighting)
building block, Munich

Landscape planning
Realgrün Landscape Architects, Munich

Photos
Christoph Mittermüller

Completion
2020

Project Team DAY & LIGHT
Frank Bernhard Vetter
Regine Oel
Florian Kempe

Awards
The German Lighting Design Award 2022 – Outdoor Lighting / Public Spaces Category

Munich's pedestrians and cyclists are no longer reliant on the busy Donnersberger- and Hackerbrücke bridges and can now cross the gigantic railway complex with 37 tracks on the outskirts of the main station stress-free.

The supporting system of the bridge is combined with a truss, whose top and bottom chords change their inclination via a hinge point in a single flowing motion over the entire length of the bridge, from the beginning to the middle slowly outwards and back inwards towards the end, while maintaining the overall height of the girders.
The bridge thus unites the statically required supporting structure with a flair of skillful precision in an elegant gesture that – in keeping with Munich's urban design – subtly integrates into the cityscape.
This precise, simple elegance is echoed in the lighting, making the form and space palpable without applied light graphics or conspicuous luminaire bodies. The alignment of the light strip along the upper beam edge remains consistent along its entire length, while the surface of the top chord gently curves outwards towards the centre of the bridge, and the bottom chord gradually offers more surface area for light. This subtly renders the elegant curve of the beams perceptible.

The route over ramps and girders is long. Therefore, it was important to create an interesting and fear-free space. The illuminated room-defining surfaces create a secluded and protected space, while the windows for viewing the outside slowly open towards the centre of the bridge. The informal seating areas that result create a quality of stay that outshines the viewing benches on the arches of the Hackerbrücke during sunsets.