European Steel Bridge Awards 2018
The objective of the EUROPEAN STEEL BRIDGE AWARDS is to give European recognition to outstanding steel and composite bridges emphasizing the many advantages of steel in sustainable construction, production, economy and architecture.
The Awards are opened to steel and composite bridges which steel structures were fabricated in the ECCS full members’ countries. The construction must have been completed and be ready for use within the last three years.
Bridges, footbridges and renovation projects (major retrofit, expansion or rehabilitation) are eligible.
Bridge awards take place every two years.
The International Jury 2018 was: Pavel RYJACEK, Czech Constructional Steelwork Association; Dennis RADEMACHER, Chairman of the ECCS Bridge Committee; Georg PENDL, President of the Architects’ Council of Europe; Aris CHATZIDAKIS, President Elect of the European Council of Civil Engineers; Roman KOUCKY, Architect and Head of Metropolitan Plan Office, Prague Institute of Planning and Development; Lasse KILVAER, Chairman of ECCS Awards and Architecture Committee; Véronique DEHAN, ECCS Secretary General.
The European Steel Bridge Awards will be chosen among the finalists, which were chosen from the initial nominees.
This year a record of 35 projects were submitted.
The finalists for the European Steel Bridge Awards 2018 for the Category Road and Railway Bridges are:
(alphabetical order by country)
THE RAILWAY BRIDGE LINE HOHENAU-PREROV, CZECH REPUBLIC
The reconstruction consisted in the removal of a technically unsuitable bridge at km 80,930 of the railway line and provision of the requested railway line speed of 160 km/hour. The original three consecutive structures were replaced with a bridge with a single opening, as requested by the Morava River Basin Agency.
RETHEBRÜCKE, GERMANY
The new Rethe Bascule Bridge across the Rethe (branch of the Elbe River) in Hamburg is to substitute the existing vertical lift bridge that was built in 1934 on one hand and to considerably improve the traffic situation of the road, rail and ship on the other hand. The superstructure is divided in two parts, one for railway and one for road.
LOFTESNESBRUI, NORWAY
Loftesnesbrui is a 194-meter-long steel bridge, situated in the town of Sogndal by the Sognefjord. The bridge has a network tied arc in the main span, and the middle of the arc is 15 meters high, from top to bottom. The new Loftesnesbrui bridge was built because the old bridge over the Loftesnes sound was very narrow, and it was starting to show signs of wear and tear. The bridge from 1958 had almost no space for pedestrians.
ÅRSTABRON, SWEDEN
The Old Årsta Bridge was built to improve the railway infrastructure to and from Stockholm and was opened in 1929. Since 1986 the Old Årsta Bridge has been regarded as a “historic building”, which means that the exterior cannot be altered. The old worn steel bridge deck was detached from the rest of the steel bridge and lowered down to a barge. It was removed and a new one arrived on another barge. In addition to the cultural-historical demands on the works, strict environmental requirements had to be met in order to avoid or limit environmental impact.
The finalists for the European Steel Bridge Awards for the Category Pedestrian & Cycle Bridges are:
(alphabetical order by country)
PARKBRUG SPOOR NOORD, BELGIUM
This pedestrian bridge is a symbolic passage between the city and the port of Antwerp, through a single pan between the London Tower and the High School. Its slender shape and playful openings give it the look of a modern work of art. The exciting footbridge symbolizes the enormous revalorization that these once unfamiliar neighbourhoods have undergone in recent years. A bridge resting on two buildings is something quite rare. It was clear from the beginning that this would become an unavoidable landmark.
FOOTBRIDGE FOR PEDESTRIANS, CYCLES AND REDUCED MOBILITY, LUXEMBOURG
The new bridge consists of a light steel deck, suspended at the concrete deck slab of the Adolphe Bridge. This new connection is barely visible from the outside and confers a refreshing contemporary design in symbiosis with the strength of the historic arches of the Pont Adolphe. The attractive access to the bridge will invite cyclists and pedestrians to choose a pleasant and comfortable alternative to cross the Petrusse Valley.
JUNGLE PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE, NORWAY
The bridge is in the Groruddal area, linking the city centre with the recreational areas east of Oslo. The Jungle bridge lifts the pedestrians up into the trees, respecting the untouched valley below. It is a simple suspension bridge over a small river, maximizing the use of prefabricated lightweight elements. Elements are hot-dip galvanized for corrosion protection.
Awards Ceremony for the European Steel Bridge Award 2018
The European Steel Bridge Awards 2018 were given at a Ceremony during the 9th International symposium on Steel Bridges, on 11th September 2018 in Prague, Czech Republic. The material is copyright-free for press-release and publication referring to ECCS Steel Bridge Awards (no advertising). View pictures
Professor J.M. ROTTER was born in Chesterfield, England and graduated at Cambridge University when he was awarded a Commonwealth Scholarship to study in Australia. He got a PhD in civil engineering from the University of Sydney. His main specialty is the Buckling of Shells.
Jouko KOUHI is expert in Connections, welding, stability and fatigue of steel structures. He has been an active member of various ECCS Technical Committees since 1979, working on ENV 1993 part 1.8 from 1999 to 2002.
Frans BIJLAARD, Professor of steel structures at the Faculty of Civil Engineering & Geosciences at Delft University of Technology. His main specialties are on stability of steel structures, structural behaviour of joints in steel structures and design of greenhouses.
The involvement of Professor Jean Pierre MUZEAU in Education and his strong motivation in promoting the use of steel in construction over his career have to be underlined. He has been qualified as “Passeur de Connaissances” (Ndt : conveyor of knowledge) by the Members of the Jury who have underlined his prominent role among the young generations of civil engineers.
Prof. Joachim LINDNER got a 40-year academic career and extensive experience in civil engineering from lateral torsional buckling through contact splices, historical grey cast iron columns, fatigue behaviour, stability design of glass-beams, scaffolding design, crane girders, plate buckling problems, composite beams and columns, corrugated webs, connection problems and imperfection regulations. He signed around 220 publications.
Professor Reidar BJORHOVDE has an impressive academic background, including two Ph.D. in the area of Civil Engineering, and a remarkable professional career which includes several years as a Professor in various universities in North America. He also been the Director of Bjorhovde Group since 1998.
Professor Carlo URBANO has been active on ECCS committee “Stability of steel structures” since 1975. He has been also present on CEN, IABSE, SSRC committees. Graduated at the Politecnico di Milano in 1963, he dedicated his career to the “Strength of Materials”. He developed scientific research mainly on the general theory of elasticity, stability of elastic equilibrium, response to dynamics and elastoplastic vibrations, shell structures, solutions for steel and reinforced structures. Lately, he has focused his works on the elastic and elastoplastic stability of compressed simple or composed steel members in the presence of mechanical and geometrical imperfections and damages due to cyclic actions. He is the author of an incredible number of papers and publications.
Prof. Ing. Jean-Baptiste SCHLEICH will always be recognised as "Mr Fire” of Europe. He was the leading professor in the development of the "Natural Fire Safety Concept". Under his leadership, the relationship of the fire load to the risk to a structure and its occupants was researched and tested. It is due to his work that structures can now be fire engineered with a significant benefit to the industry, building owners and users.
Professor Manfred HIRT had been member of the various ECCS Technical Committees. He wrote more than 130 publications as author or co-author. Director of the Steel Structures Laboratory (ICOM) of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology at Lausanne (EPFL), Prof. Hirt was known on the international scene for his expertise in the field of fatigue and fracture mechanics of steel structures, loads and action on structures, structural safety and serviceability and steel-concrete composite construction. In August 2003, he had been elected President of the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE).
Professor Giulio BALLIO was born in Rome, on 4 March 1940, and graduated in Aeronautical Engineering at the “Politecnico of Milan”, in 1963. He was Ordinario of the Science of Construction at Pavia University and, subsequently, of Construction in Steel at the Politecnico of Milan, where he has also been responsible, since 1985, for the Material Tests Laboratory.
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Gerhard SEDLACEK, was a leading and opinion-forming person in various ECCS technical committees and subcommittees. He was one of the most active person in the European steel research sector as well as in the European codification field. His various activities covered a huge range beginning from intelligent design of steel and composite structures to researching, applying of research results, safety requirements, teaching and training of students and engineers, promotion and developing of steel structures and design tools for a better market share.
Professor Patrick DOWLING started his working life as an employee of BCSA and subsequently worked both in industry and academia. He was extensively involved with ECCS in plate buckling research and was Chairman of the CEN Eurocode 3 Committee.
When awarded, Professor Federico MAZZOLANI was Director of the “Institute of Technique of Construction” at the Engineering Faculty of Naples, Italy. Born in Milan, in 1938, and graduated in Civil Engineering at the University of Naples, Prof. Federico M. Mazzolani co-operated since 1970 with ECCS, assuming the responsibility of Committee chairmanship. His activity has been characterised by the issue of several fundamental documents, which played a leader role in the development of the European codification at the level of both national codes and Eurocodes.
Scientific Manager and Deputy General Manager of the French Technical and Industrial Centre of Steel Construction (CTICM), Professor Jacques BROZZETTI contributed highly to the development of the European Steel Construction. He had a long involvement with various research projects including stability problems, composite construction, fatigue and fire behaviour of steel structures. As a result, he had been involved with many Codes and design guides comprising writing activities. He worked with the profession to promote the steel construction on its various aspects.
Prof. Jan W.B. STARK, from the University of Delft, The Netherlands, had made substantial contributions to the construction industry in general, and more specifically with regard to steel and composite structures. For many years, he had been an active member of CEN and served ECCS in various committees. The Charles Massonnet Award was presented to him to express our gratitude for his high standard and valuable contribution to the steel construction industry.
Close collaborator of Professor Charles Massonnet, Professor René MAQUOI, was awarded in recognition of his efforts for the development of steel and composite construction. Indeed, Professor Massonnet was his “master” and conducted his first step in the ECCS activities.
Frantisek Wald concentrates on the connection and fire design of steel structures. He prepared the component model for column bases and the component based finite element model of joints. He works in ECCS Technical Committee 10 - Structural joints and in Project team for preparation of standard - EN 1993-1-8:2020.
