The batbridge

NEXT Architects completed in Monster, the Netherlands, a bridge that offers a pleasant climate for bats thanks to its mass of the concrete, with an underside provided with entrance slots.

NEXT Architects, The Vlotwateringbrug, Monster, The Netherlands. Photo : © Raymond Rutting
Designed by NEXT architects, the Vlotwateringbrug, or popularly “batbridge”, is located in Monster, the Netherlands, along a flight route of several bat species.
To optimize the suitability of the bridge for bats, the structure is made out of concrete. The mass of the concrete provides a stable and pleasant climate. The underside of the bridge is provided with entrance slots. The openings have a rough finish for grip. The slots are part of a pattern of grooves in the concrete arch. Clever use is made of the structural space in the cross section to implement the roosts.
<b>Top and above</b>: NEXT Architects, The Vlotwateringbrug, Monster, The Netherlands. Photo : © Raymond Rutting
Top and above: NEXT Architects, The Vlotwateringbrug, Monster, The Netherlands. Photo © Raymond Rutting

Crossing the Vlotwatering the new bridge winds between two existing parcels and marks the entrance of the Poelzone. At the highest point, the bridge makes a turn for a clear view of the area. The wooden lamellas provide openness to the natural banks along the water. With a length of 25 meters the concrete arch spans the entire Vlotwatering. The S-shaped deck is supported with a pressure arc that slants under the bridge.

The bat bridge becomes part of the Poelzone, an elongated area in the Westland between the existing centres of ’s- Gravenzande, Naaldwijk and Monster. Along the waterway a new green recreational zone with natural banks and spawn sites for fish will be realized. The landscape design by LOLA Landscape is made to strengthen the existing green and ecological connections in which natural and recreational values complement each other.


The Vlotwateringbrug, Monster, The Netherlands
Program: bridge
Architects: NEXT architects
Client: Municipality of Wateringen
Advisor construction: Pieters Bouwtechniek Haarlem
Advisor cost: Laan Bouwkostenadvies
Advisor ecology: Zoogdiervereniging
Contractor: Kroes aannemingsbedrijf B.V
Team: Bart Reuser, Marijn Schenk, Michel Schreinemachers, Jurriaan Hillerström, Sylvia Hendriks, Luuc Sonke, Anne Hilgers, Anna Korzeniowska
Cost: € 700.000
Span: 25 m
Completion: October 2015

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