Every day, 50,000 CARS cross the NIBELUNGENBRÜCKE in LINZ. A RELIC of CAR-ORIENTED URBAN PLANNING that in the former "FÜHRERSTADT" of Linz clearly cannot only be TRACED BACK to POST-WAR MODERNISM, but rather to the PLANS of prominent NAZI ARCHITECTS for Hitler's "German Budapest". During the 10-year Berlin-like DIVISION of the CITY into a SOVIET-OCCUPIED SECTOR to the north of the DANUBE (URFAHR) and an AMERICAN-OCCUPIED SECTOR to the south of the Danube (Linz), the BRIDGE was something like LINZ’S CHECKPOINT CHARLIE. Although this period - according to the LINZERS - has left almost no traces, the Danube forms a HARD SPATIAL CAESURA between the north and the south, which blocks CORRESPONDENCE between the two parts. The Nibelungenbrücke underlines this not only with its APPEARANCE, but also with the above-mentioned 50,000 cars daily. Regardless of their ARCHITECTURAL QUALITIES, the ARS ELECTRONICA CENTER and the NEW LINZ CITY HALL stand on the Urfahr side of the bridge OPPOSITE the two CHUNKY BRIDGEHEAD BUILDINGS built by the Nazis on the Linz side, as if in CONFRONTATION. The URBAN SITUATION on both sides has neither been CLARIFIED at BRIDGE LEVEL nor one story lower at BANK LEVEL and is a RESIDUAL SPACE of car-oriented planning. The Urfahrer KIRCHGASSE, for example, passes completely under the ARS ELECTRONICA CENTER and does not even get to see the profaned NIKOLAIKIRCHE, who gave its NAME. CYCLISTS on the DANUBE CYCLE PATH from PASSAU to VIENNA either have to use a huge ZIGZAG or make a big LOOP around the NEW TOWN HALL once to reach the BRIDGE LEVEL and thus the LINZ CITY CENTER.
JOHANNA BRUNNER dares to do something OUTRAGEOUS: first she takes one half of the bridge away from the 50,000 cars in order to give PEDESTRIANS and cyclists their RIGHT and to create a CONNECTING URBAN SPACE between Linz and Urfahr. Further she allows only TRAMS, BUSES, AMBULANCES and INFRASTRUCTURALLY UNAVOIDABLE TRIPS to use the remaining half of the bridge. This SET-UP extends all the way to HINSENKAMPPLATZ and opens the POSSIBILITY of RETHINKING URBAN SPACE, for example at the Urfahrer end of the bridge, where the "PLATZL" with SMALL SHOPS and BARS once stood on the site of the New Town Hall.
Johanna’s main COMPONENT, however, is a SPIRAL that, placed in front of the Ars Electronica Center, creates the so far UNRESOLVED CONNECTION between BRIDGE LEVEL and the BANKS OF DANUBE. Via the spiral, not only is LONG-DISTANCE BICYCLE TRAFFIC along the Danube now connected to Linz city center in a NATURAL MOVEMENT, but all kinds of NON-MOTORISED TRAFFIC PARTICIPANTS are offered SPACE here that is not only dedicated to getting from A TO B, but also wants to be a LOCATION in itself: At WATER LEVEL, there is a PLATFORM that is FLOODED at HIGH TIDE where BOATS, but also the DONAUBUS, can dock and to which a MAENIANUM is attached that OFFERS a PUBLIC SPACE without COMPULSORY CONSUMPTION but with a KIOSK. The ring at riverbank level formulates a MIXED ZONE where non-motorized traffic and VISITORS meet. The spiral leads up a gentle INCLINE for cyclists, pedestrians, and WHEELCHAIR USERS to the bridge, which is lined with a continuous offer to sit down or enjoy a VIEW of Linz city center.
Johanna Brunner's work is driven by the STRONG WILL to RETURN spaces that are entirely dedicated to motorized traffic, and which thereby OCCUPY large portions of URBAN SPACE, to PEOPLE and ANIMALS. The bridge, with its HISTORICALLY and SPATIALLY difficult CONNOTATIONS, thus becomes a piece of the city itself that promotes the CONTINUITY of urban life between the parts of Linz to the south and north of the Danube.
This project is a result of the studio “Interregnum I: Urban Agencies & Dei Ex Machina”.
Concept and teaching: c/o now - Andrijana Ivanda & Tobias Hönig + Markus Rampl, Paul Reinhardt, Duy An Tran, Ksenija Zdešar
