The Tabi'at Bridge ( Persian : پل طبیعت , lit. 'The bridge of nature') is the largest pedestrian overpass in Tehran , Iran . The 270-metre (890 ft) bridge connects two public parks — Taleghani Park and Abo-Atash Park — by spanning Modarres Expressway , one of the main highways in northern Tehran. The word tabiat which was imported from Arabic to Persian , means "nature" in Persian, but it has several other meanings in Arabic.
9-623: The bridge was designed by Diba Tensile Architecture ( Leila Araghian and Alireza Behzadi). It has won several awards, including the Popular Choice Prize for Highways & Bridges from the Architizer A+ Awards, a global architectural competition based in New York. The bridge also won the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for its exemplary approach to an infrastructure project, "a breath of fresh air" according to
18-621: Is an Iranian architect . She has a master's degree in architecture from the University of British Columbia , where she won the UBC Architecture Alumni Henry Elder Prize. She previously studied architecture in Iran, at Shahid Beheshti University . In 2005, Araghian co-founded Diba Tensile Architecture , a company specialising in the design, manufacture and installation of membrane structures . She
27-436: Is located where the truss meets the column branches. The complex steel structure has a dynamic three-dimensional truss and the surface is curved with a varying width. Structural elements of the bridge use a latent geometrical order rotated and repeated in all three dimensions. Restaurants serve customers at either end of the bridge with seating areas and kiosks between. Some areas of the bridge are open to allow trees to grow and
36-624: The World Architecture Festival because of sanctions against Iran . The architect herself spoke out against the sanctions because according to her, "this is ridiculous, I’m an Iranian architect and this is a cultural activity, it has absolutely nothing to do with politics." She was photographed in September 2015 by Brandon Stanton for the Humans of New York trip to Iran. This article about an Iranian architect
45-436: The award jury. Tabiat Bridge was designed by Leila Araghian as part of a local competition for the design of a bridge to connect two parks in north Tehran which were separated by a highway. In designing the bridge, a process which took a total of 4 years, Araghian wanted it to "be a place for people to stay and ponder, not simply pass." To achieve this the bridge is not straight and contains benches and seating. Construction of
54-462: The bridge itself has green spaces to encourage visitors to linger. The bridge offers viewing areas for scenery without itself blocking the view of the Alborz mountains and has a small footprint that blends in with its environment. Each of the two parks the bridge connects has multiple pathways leading visitors onto the bridge. The bridge not only connects two parks, it is a popular gathering place for
63-523: The bridge started in 2010, using a total of 2000 tonnes of steel and 10000 cubic metres of concrete before it was finished in October 2014. Construction of the bridge over a large highway was described as a big challenge, with platforms and temporary tunnels built to ensure that nothing fell onto the road below. Three tree-shaped columns support two continuous deck levels which makes the lower level covered and suitable for use in all seasons. A third level
72-529: The community in its seating areas and restaurants, acting as a place for people to stay not just pass. Some have described walking on the bridge as feeling like walking through a forest and a place of positive energy where they can come to reenergize when feeling low. Four million people visited the bridge the first year it was open. 35°45′16″N 51°25′13″E / 35.7545°N 51.4204°E / 35.7545; 51.4204 Leila Araghian Leila Araghian ( Persian : لیلا عراقیان ; born 1983)
81-647: Was chief architect and designer of the Tabiat Bridge in Tehran , a pedestrian bridge opened in late 2014 which has won several prizes, including the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture for Architecture, and the Popular Choice award in the Highways & Bridges category of Architizer's 2015 A+ Awards. Araghian's Iranian heritage has restricted her international exposure; she was not allowed to enter
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