Sabetjohk pedestrian bridge. kåfjord. norway. 2011.

Over the deepest gorges of Northern Europe, surrounded by a magnificent mountain landscape, where the rivers Guolasjohka and Magerelva meet in a spectacular waterfall, the Municipality of Kåfjord decided to build a pedestrian bridge. The bridge is also a platform for look-out, and base for world class bungee jumping.

Considering the vulnerable nature, establishing a traditional machine-driven building site was out of the question. Therefore, the foundations were made by hand, and all transport of building materials was performed by a helicopter, including the bridge span in one piece. The maximal load capacity of the biggest available helicopters was 4000 kg, and this became crucial for the weight and the design of the construction. Aluminum was therefore the natural choice because of the low weight, yet high strength, stiffness and resistance. All parts of the construction was produced in Austria and sent to Norway in a trailer, and finally put together on a parking lot close to the building site.

Designing, planning and the seeing through of this project is a result of a unique and inspiring collaboration between client, entrepreneur, engineer and architect, from the very first sketch, through a demanding process, towards the solemn inauguration ceremony.