KLIPPEN: Crystalline Cliffs That Double as a Bridge Across Copenhagen's Harbor

What if a bridge could behave more like a cliff face than a crossing? KLIPPEN takes that provocation seriously, proposing two sinuous pedestrian and cyclist bridges that thread through faceted, rock-like volumes hovering above Copenhagen's inner harbor. The crystalline forms are not decorative: they house cafés, bike parking silos, public showers, information points, and gathering lounges across five stacked levels. The bridge is infrastructure, yes, but it is also a linear park, an observation deck, and a piece of geological fiction planted in the middle of one of Europe's most design-literate cities.

Designed by Katarzyna Benko, Artur Gibas, Jan Łabowicz, and Justyna Kolarz, KLIPPEN was shortlisted in The City Link competition. The brief asked entrants to connect Copenhagen's riverbanks with a new foot and cycle bridge while engaging with a site flanked by the Royal Danish Playhouse, the Black Diamond Library, and the Opera House. Rather than compete with that lineup, the team proposed a new typology altogether: a bridge that earns its place by offering civic generosity at every level.

Soft Curves Between Hard Icons

The 1:500 site plan reveals how KLIPPEN's twin bridges negotiate the riverbank geometries with soft curvature, curling gently across the water while maintaining clear separation between pedestrian and cyclist flows. The paths are oriented to frame views of Copenhagen's architectural landmarks, turning movement across the harbor into a choreographed sequence of sightlines. This is not accidental: the bridges' alignment treats each cultural institution as a visual terminus, giving purpose to every turn.

The section drawing confirms the strategy in elevation. An elevated pedestrian promenade rises above the waterline, lined with trees and populated by figures strolling at a pace that belongs to a park, not a transit corridor. Below, the primary cycling route maintains uninterrupted momentum. This two-level circulation system is the project's structural backbone, ensuring that neither mode of movement compromises the other.

Five Levels Inside a Minimal Footprint

The exploded axonometric is the project's most revealing drawing. It peels apart the crystalline volumes to show how program elements float above the waterfront pathway: gathering spaces and scenic lounges at levels +2 and +3, informal meeting areas at level +1, a public plaza with bike facilities at ground level, showers and toilets at level -1, and a silo bike parking and rental hub buried at level -2. The vertical stacking keeps the bridge's footprint compact while generating a sculptural skyline along the river.

The perspective view reinforces this reading at eye level. Cyclists approach along the elevated pathway while pedestrians converge around an angular white pavilion that juts upward like a shard of quartz. The scale feels right: the crystalline forms are large enough to anchor the bridge spatially but not so monumental that they overwhelm the waterfront. They punctuate the crossing with rhythm and orientation, turning what could be a monotonous span into a series of distinct moments.

An Opening Bridge That Keeps People in Place

Urban bridges on active waterways must open for boat traffic, and that operation typically strands users on one side or the other. KLIPPEN proposes an innovative tilting mechanism that allows the structure to open without fully halting pedestrian or cyclist movement. Barriers and integrated platforms keep people safely on walkable areas during the operation, and the team frames the moment of opening as an intentional public event: watching boats pass becomes part of the bridge's program rather than an interruption of it.

The multi-level floor plan drawing details how this compactness works in section. Each crystalline node stacks its functions tightly, with clear vertical circulation connecting the bike parking silo two levels below grade to the café and scenic lounges above. The result is a bridge that performs as a small building, or more precisely, as a cluster of small buildings threaded onto a continuous path.

Faceted Glass on a Winter Waterfront

The final elevation drawing places the pavilions in a distinctly Nordic atmosphere: leafless trees, low light, and pedestrians bundled against the cold. The faceted glass surfaces of the crystalline volumes catch and refract whatever light is available, giving the structures a presence that shifts with the seasons. In summer, they would read as translucent markers along a sunlit promenade. In winter, as shown here, they glow with interior warmth against a muted sky. The material choice is not merely aesthetic; glass pavilions on a waterfront plaza signal transparency and public access, inviting people inside rather than routing them past.

Why This Project Matters

KLIPPEN challenges the persistent assumption that a bridge is a line drawn between two points. By embedding five levels of public program inside crystalline volumes and splitting circulation into dedicated pedestrian and cyclist tiers, the project demonstrates that infrastructure can be spatially generous without sprawling across the landscape. The vertical stacking strategy is particularly compelling: it proves that a bridge's footprint can remain compact while its section becomes architecturally rich.

More broadly, the project offers a model for how cycling culture can be architecturally celebrated rather than merely accommodated. Copenhagen already leads the world in cycle infrastructure, but KLIPPEN suggests that the next step is not just more bike lanes. It is bike lanes woven through gathering spaces, observation decks, and civic pavilions, creating a continuous social spine that makes the act of crossing a river as rewarding as arriving at the other side.

View the Full Project

About the Designers

Designers: Katarzyna Benko, Artur Gibas, Jan Łabowicz, Justyna Kolarz

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Project credits: KLIPPEN by Katarzyna Benko, Artur Gibas, Jan Łabowicz, Justyna Kolarz The City Link (uni.xyz).