Q+A: The “Cycle Snake” Shows How Elevated Bike Paths Can Change a City

DISSING+WEITLING Architecture won the 2015 A+Award, Jury Choice, for the Highways & Bridges Category with Cykelslangen / The Bicycle Snake. This 660-foot (200-meter) bicycle bridge in Copenhagen makes life easier for some 12,500 commuters daily.

Architizer Editors Architizer Editors

With 90+ categories and 300+ jurors, the Architizer A+Awards is the world’s definitive architectural awards program. Following the Awards Gala and Phaidon book launch on May 14, we are pleased to share the stories behind the winners of the 2015 Awards program — see all of them here.

DISSING+WEITLING Architecture won the 2015 A+Award, Jury Choice, for the Highways & Bridges Category with Cykelslangen / The Bicycle Snake. This 660-foot (200-meter) bicycle bridge in Copenhagen makes life easier for some 12,500 commuters daily.

Your name: Steen Savery Trojaborg
Firm name: DISSING+WEITLING
Location: Copenhagen

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

When did you decide that you wanted to be an architect?

After studying at the University of Pennsylvania from 1969–’70. I did not study at the School of Architecture, and I did not know about Louis Kahn.

First architecture/design job:

A windbreak with details, details, and details.

Design hero and/or favorite building (and why):

Le Corbusier, for his sense of the cosmic.

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

What do you find exciting about architecture and design right now?

The diversity.

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

Tell us something that people might not know about your A+Award submission:

We never thought it would get so much attention.

Which jurors do you find most compelling and why?

Bjarke Ingels, for having changed the scene in Denmark.

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

© DISSING+WEITLING architecture

Outside of architecture, where do you look for inspiration?

Music and literature.

What is the most important quality in an architect?

Curiosity.

Who would be your dream client, and why?

The City of New York. It is vibrant and magic. And has a long way to go for cyclists.

See all of the 2015 A+Award Winners here and all of the Winner Q+As here — and order the book from Phaidon here.

Read more articles by Architizer

Please Be Seated

The armchair is a fascinating object. For one thing, the physical position of the chair compels us t o take the shape of the vessel — upright and stiff-backed or with a relaxed and rounded spine. Not only do we experience sitting in the chair ourselves, we can also be observed sitting by others. Sometimes one…

© Rüssli Architects AG

Ephemeral Light: Explore the Possibilities of Channel Glass Wall Systems

As architects, we are constantly rethinking the materials, forms, and spaces that we create. Central to many designs, glass is one material that invites innovation and new applications. Channel Glass Wall Systems (A+Awards Jury Winner in the Product+Building category) are made from panels of U-shaped cast glass that comes in a variety of lengths and…

+