The Looping Festine Lente Bridge Opens in Sarajevo

Three Bosnian students have designed an incredible looping bridge for their university in<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/sarajevo-design/" target="_blank"> Sarajevo</a>. Adnan Alagić, Bojan Kanlić and <a href="http://www.amila.ba/">Amila Hrustić</a> all attended the <a href="http://www.alu.unsa.ba/" target="_blank">Academy of Fine Arts</a>, which is located in a former ornate church on the banks of the Miljacka River. Inspired by the church building’s past, the group designed the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/wave-pier-by-mesh-architects-swirls-from-the-shore-like-a-roller-coaster/" target="_blank">looped bridge</a> as a symbolic gateway across the river and into the university hall.

The loop-de-loop bridge stretches at a picturesque point on the Mijacka River, connecting the historic stone walls on the right bank to the lush grounds of the domed former church on the left.

Stretching 125 feet across the river, the steel and aluminum bridge’s<a href="http://inhabitat.com/rollercoaster-louvered-pavilion-snakes-around-a-schoolyard-like-an-amusement-park-ride/" target="_blank"> loop creates a sheltered sitting area</a> for students to meet in.

Fitted with a rounded wooden bench on each end of the enclosure, the covered space also gives an isolated and tranquil resting spot directly above the waters of the Mijacka. Students may use the bridge for a place to eat lunch, study, or as a meeting point for friends.

At night, the looping bridge is illuminated with white <a href="http://inhabitat.com/londons-tower-bridge-gets-led-upgrade-for-the-queens-diamond-jubilee/uk-tower-bridge/" target="_blank">LED lights</a>, making a landmark from afar while providing a safe passage for pedestrians into the church hall.

The church itself was originally built in the early 1900s during the Viennese Secession, and the <a href="http://inhabitat.com/arching-melkwegbridge-routes-pedestrians-cyclists-across-a-canal-in-the-netherlands/" target="_blank">curvature of the bridge</a> was also meant to mimic the lines popular in Secession architecture.

Conceived for a contest in 2007, the now graduated students finally saw their design in life when the Festina Lente <a href="http://inhabitat.com/germanys-roller-coaster-walkway-thrills-visitors-with-views-to-the-surrounding-landscape/" target="_blank">looping bridge</a> was built five years later.