Reconnecting wildlife 

The development of a series of viaducts in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, not only had the goal to reconnect the landscape and ecosystem but also to reduce the amount of vehicle-animal collisions. The Vail Pass in Colorado was the first location selected, forming the prototype for future wildlife crossings in the Rocky Mountains. With an interdisciplinary design team, OKRA won a place in the final of the design competition.

Landshape

Landshape is designed to be in tune with the scale of landscape and wilderness around the Vail Pass. The Landshape design is formed with a technically innovative double arch, able to bear the weight of the wildlife crossing. This man-made construction is a meshwork of symmetrical and non-symmetrical geo-contours, derived from the topography of the area. In this respect, the wildlife crossing is simultaneously a natural and an artificial form, a ‘landshape’. The construction consists of three curves: the bridge, the landscape and the vegetation.

Flexible formwork

The main challenge was to design a series of passages that could be modular and economical yet unique in every location, relating to the surrounding landscapes. A flexible parabolic mould has been designed that enables the production of free forms. The mould consists of a network of cables covered by a textile membrane. Unique in this construction is that the network of cables can be reused to generate different forms and the following wildlife passages.