From the freedom of California’s Route 1 to the spectacular winding road of the Grimsell Pass in the Swiss Alps, spectacular drives define famous places across the globe. The starting concept for the Doha Bay Crossing project was to not only design how the project will be viewed as a spectacular iconic landmark from across the bay, but also how we can provide one of the World’s great, iconic, driving experiences!This solution ensures that the route takes full advantage of the views, becomes more than a monotonous horizontal crossing, is a spectacular landmark, resolves the technically challenging practical constraints thrown up by any project on such a scale and becomes an iconic driving experience in itself.The first experience of the iconic structure might be from the sky, where the islands and the bridges resembles the national animal of Qatar - the Oryx.The inspiration for the design of the bridges has been the flag of Qatar with its diagonal geometry. The diagonal tension cables create surfaces that will be illuminated in the night. This will be a dynamic light, which can change in colour and intensity. The light for the traffic lanes will be a low positioned system integrated in railings and sides of the bridge. By doing two bridges, two islands and two tunnels we can create a fantastic driving experience. Seeing Doha from different parts of the Bay. Bicycle infrastructure is a key element of successful urban design. The bridges will provide citizens with a freedom of mobility, opportunities to engage with their natural surroundings, and a chance to connect with fellow citizens. We have created a cycle route along the two bridges our to the two islands where we aredesigning a public park. Perhaps it can be a national park.
We want the drivers to the north to get some fresh air coming up from the tunnel as well as getting a view of West Bay. This is by creating two bridges and thereby shortening the tunnels. The Bridge-Tunnel concept allows for tall ships to easily access the marinas in the Bay. The pylons are clad in stainless steel with a core of concrete. The railings are in stainless steel and are almost disappearing when one is moving along the bridge. The under side of the bridge is in stainless steel with baffles that are lit up in the night. The tunnels have a red-blue color gradient to make it easier to know how far one has travelled. The artificial island will be designed with anti/erosion material and masses from the excatvation of the tunnels. The height of the pylons is given by the air regulations which allows for a maximum height of 148. The pylons double their width and length over the height over the traffic lanes.