Symbio Bridge
On 17 November 2016 the Province of Zuid-Holland, the Midden-Delfland recreational amenities board and the City of Delft officially opened a new cycle route and a remarkable new bridge: the Symbiobrug. The bridge, designed by Rafail Gkaidatzis, was the winning entry in a design competition for TU Delft architecture students in 2014. The name Symbiobrug is a reflection of the interaction between nature and technology. Besides designing the bridge, Gkaidatzis was also given the commission to build it.
The new cycle route was created between the Technopolis Science Park (Thijssenweg) and the Ackerdijkse Bos recreational area in the countryside of Midden-Delfland. The bridge crosses the 35-metre wide Karitaatmolensloot canal on the southern fringe of Delft. The cycle route project linking Ackerdijkse Bos and TU Delft including the bridge was funded by the Province of Zuid-Holland, the City of Delft and the Midden-Delfland recreational amenities board, while the entire project took almost eight months to complete.
The striking colour and shape of the Symbiobrug make it a distinctive feature in the rural landscape. In Greek συν means ‘together' and βιωσις ‘living', reflecting the interaction between nature and technology, two elements that enter into a symbiotic co-existence in the Symbiobrug bridge.
