Footbridge of the High Speed Train Station Saint Laud
Angers is the capital of the departments of Maine-et-Loire, in the west of France. The city of 153,000 inhabitants is located about 100 km north-east of Nantes and 300 km from Paris. Angers Saint-Laud railway station is a major transport hub in the city centre. A TGV train to Paris stops there 13 times a day, traveling the distance in 1.45 hours. There are about 40 trains a day to Nantes. The station is located rue Auguste Gautier to the north of the railway line, rue Fulton passes to the south of it. In the area of the station, the bundles of rails are about 70 metres wide and cut a deep corridor running towards the city. The old reinforced concrete pedestrian bridge, which crossed directly over the tracks, was badly damaged. Photography by © David Boureau
The urban development plans include an upgrading of the area. On the railway station side, offices and a multi-storey car park have been built on Rue Auguste Gaultier, and a hotel is under construction. To the south of the bundle of tracks, a new promenade and park will be built on Fulton Street. The bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is part of this modernization and has been won by Dietmar Feichtinger Architectes. Their design is based on the urban scale, overcoming the barrier of the railway tracks and providing direct access for disabled people to the platforms via lifts and stairs.
Above all, it is a singular traffic structure that becomes a landmark with its...