Winning entry described as 鈥渂old, elegant and uncluttered鈥

A team of European architects has won an ideas competition to come up with a new footbridge design for Network Rail.

The design by Danish practice Gottlieb Paludan Architects and Czech Republic-based firm and bridge specialist Strasky, Husty and Partners saw off more than 120 entries from 19 countries worldwide to win the competition, jointly run by the rail infrastructure company and the RIBA.

The competition was looking for ideas that were 鈥渋nnovative, challenged presumptions and raised expectations for the quality of future design鈥.

According to the judges, the winning design (pictured, below) 鈥渁ddressed the wide range of practical challenges whilst proposing a bold, elegant and uncluttered response that would create an uplifting experience to suit many contexts鈥.

Gottlieb Paludan has worked on a number of infrastructure schemes across Scandinavia, including a refurb of Copenhagen鈥檚 central station.

UK practice Hawkins\Brown, which had teamed up with WSP, was highly commended

Anthony Dewar, head of buildings and architecture at Network Rail, said the competition winner would be added to the company鈥檚 new catalogue of improved station footbridge designs.

RIBA footbridge competition winner