The Floating Bridge Prototype

As an international design o�ce, we are facing many water and climate related complications in our daily work that heavily impacts the functionality of traditional infrastructure. A rising sea level and the increasing scarcity of space limit the flexibility of the city to cope with peak rainfalls during storms or a lack of water during periods of drought. In the Netherlands this problem becomes very apparent, since more than half of the country is situated below sea level. Rivers that are overflowing, dikes that are breaking, and an increasing need for water storage will dramatically impact the use of infrastructure, not only for daily use, but also during times of emergency. Climate change will take over when the innovation stops. This requires a paradigm shift in the way we consider infrastructure. West 8 is busy developing a prototype of a floating bridge as a resilient approach to infrastructure.