A5 West Branch, CH-Biel
The goal of the test planning is to apply the new scale — based on the two new connection points, Bienne-Centre and Seevorstadt, to the A5 national highway — to the adjacent development and restore balance to the urban structure. The proposed solution therefore calls for adapting the infrastructure to the existing urban structure.
Salzhausstrasse forms the urban and infrastructural backbone of the new development in the Bienne-Centre interchange area. It already serves as a connecting link between the center of Nidau — including the castle — and Biel’s Zentralplatz. All on- and off-ramps to the A5 interchange will be integrated into it.
The Madretsch-Schüss runs as an elevated canal and, together with the trees, forms a distinctive pedestrian and bicycle route. A series of public and neighborhood-specific green spaces and open areas, intertwined with footpaths and communal courtyard green spaces, completes the new, ever-changing neighborhood landscape.
At the Seevorstadt junction, the transportation-related construction work is limited to the area north of the railroad embankment. As a result, the beach area remains unaffected and can be left in its current state. The concentrated, almost sculptural intervention — including the tunnel portal — is inscribed within a large paved area and simultaneously forms the base for the rising rock band of the Jura Range.
