Rorschach station, on the southern shore of Lake Constance in Switzerland, is separated from the 25-metre higher bus stop and nearby housing area by a steep slope. A concrete sculpture, consisting of a 30-metre-high lift and staircase tower and a 40-metre-long skywalk, was built to cover the distance between top and bottom. The facility affords a broad prospect of the landscape, the lake and the town centre; and at its end, the walkway widens into a balcony with a panoramic view.
A simple metal staircase provides an alternative means of covering the distance in height. The wind loads of passing trains had to be taken into account in the structural calculations, and the tower is firmly anchored in the rock at its base. The bridge has a sliding bearing at the top of the slope. Nearly 1,000 lift journeys a day show how intensely the new link is used.
A simple metal staircase provides an alternative means of covering the distance in height. The wind loads of passing trains had to be taken into account in the structural calculations, and the tower is firmly anchored in the rock at its base. The bridge has a sliding bearing at the top of the slope. Nearly 1,000 lift journeys a day show how intensely the new link is used.