Onda Atlántica pedestrian bridge: In a wide arc

Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has not only great beaches, but recently also a beautiful bridge that connects one of them to a quay.

Las Palmas is a name which often arouses thoughts of vacations for Europeans. Not only because it literally consists of palm trees, but also, among other things, because it is the name of the capital of Gran Canaria, which is known for its beaches and seaside resorts. For architecture lovers, however, there is (at least) one more reason to head for this popular destination: the Onda Atlántica pedestrian bridge. Since 2021, it has been winding seemingly weightlessly in a wide arc over the city highway from Las Canteras beach to the Sanapu wharf, where it makes another smaller, opposite turn. The 283-meter-long bridge sculpture by Checa Arquitectura and Onda Arquitectura manages to span this long stretch without supports, consisting of three bridge spans, each 63 meters long.

The sinuous roadway eliminates the need for expansion joints and also avoided the felling of trees on site. As a noise protection measure, the bridge has a V-shaped profile, which at the same time creates an exciting design effect. From some perspectives, the bridge looks two-dimensional, like a curved sheet of paper. Structurally, the structure is based on shipbuilding and consists of a system of ribs that are connected to each other every 3.2 meters by steel plates ten to twelve millimeters thick. The 18 individual components of the steel structure weigh up to 18 tons each and were prefabricated in a steel mill in Seville and then shipped to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.