Embracing Amsterdam’s symbiotic relationship with water, our proposal seeks to bring about interaction with the Amstel on a more intimate level where the water becomes an experience for the user, not merely an object to cross over. By floating the bridge at water level and allowing a thin sheet of water to pass over it, we leave the site’s beauty intact while creating the illusion of walking on water.

Designed as an encounter with the canal, the floating bridge captures a beautiful and fleeting quality of a calm, rainy day, where one is biking slowly through shallow puddles while little kids stomp in their rain boots and the sky’s reflection is caught in glassy surfaces.

The canal’s edge approaching the bridge is carved into steps, inviting lingering strolls and pauses. Gateways mark the otherwise invisible crossing while sheltering a cafe and a bike shop. With a hinged midsection, the bridge opens to allow boats and barges to pass.

We are not designing a bridge, as much as an interaction with the water. The bridge provides a new kind of passage over the Amstel, one with just a touch of magic.