Why Skyscrapers Have Bridges (and will need more)

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Discover the future of urban design with skybridges with me, Dr. Antony Wood skybridge expert, and Jaron Lubin from Moshe Safdie Architects. From their historical origins in Venice's Bridge of Sighs to modern-day wonders like the Petronas Towers and Marina Bay Sands Resort in Singapore, explore how skybridges are revolutionizing city landscapes. Learn how these elevated walkways not only enhance connectivity and circulation between buildings but also create vibrant public spaces floating in the air. Uncover the challenges and incentives that shape the adoption of skybridges in different cities, and the potential for a network of interconnected structures to redefine urban experiences. Join the discussion on the future of architecture and subscribe to the channel for more captivating content every other Thursday!
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Video co-produced and edited by Evan Montgomery.
Stock video and imagery provided by Getty Images, Storyblocks, and Shutterstock.
Music provided by Epidemic Sound
Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) www.ctbuh.org/
Safdie Architects: www.safdiearchitects.com/
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Architecture with Stewart is a KZbin journey exploring architecture’s deep and enduring stories in all their bewildering glory. Weekly videos and occasional live events breakdown a wide range of topics related to the built environment in order to increase their general understanding and advocate their importance in shaping the world we inhabit.
_About Me_
Stewart Hicks is an architectural design educator that leads studios and lecture courses as an Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He also serves as an Associate Dean in the College of Architecture, Design, and the Arts and is the co-founder of the practice Design With Company. His work has earned awards such as the Architecture Record Design Vanguard Award or the Young Architect’s Forum Award and has been featured in exhibitions such as the Chicago Architecture Biennial and Design Miami, as well as at the V&A Museum and Tate Modern in London. His writings can be found in the co-authored book Misguided Tactics for Propriety Calibration, published with the Graham Foundation, as well as essays in MONU magazine, the AIA Journal Manifest, Log, bracket, and the guest-edited issue of MAS Context on the topic of character architecture.
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University of Illinois at Chicago School of Architecture: arch.uic.edu/
#architecture #urbandesign

[@ValentinBruckel]

I'm surprised I haven't seen the most obvious effect of skybridges mentioned here: They push pedestrian traffic out of the public space on the ground, surrendering that space to cars. If that's positive or negative depends on your point of view, but personally, I'd much rather prefer walking on tha ground and having motorized traffic relegated below ground or to dedicated bridges (that may or may not intersec buildings)

[@lzh4950]

That's a complaint I've heard in HK with its many bridges between neighbouring building, but on the other hand, having more pedestrians on the ground also means more pedestrians that public buses have to give way to, slowing them down

[@peciarda]

You don't need cars

[@am_meep]

having other transportation methods on ground level such as busses, trolleys, trains, and bike baths can reduce some of that. dedicated pedestrian areas and car-free zones can also make walking on the ground level just as viable.

[@patrick383ironworker]

Believe me, when it's -16F and windy, you're happy they're there.

[@djj.8781]

u dont need sidewalk@@peciarda

[@ericsutherland461]

The sidewalk is the democratic engine of a city. Any 'network' above the ground is a little less public and the higher you go the less public it gets.

[@nos9784]

Unless it's big and interconnected enough to still practically be "the sidewalk" Calgary has that, afaik.

[@vylbird8014]

I think that's the idea: Let the rich get from building to building without having to set eyes upon the unwashed masses.

[@who2u333]

In today's culture this is true. However, if cities implemented more of a 3-dementional design in more buildings that could change. As cultures do.

[@johnp6260]

Higher up equals more expensive thus further separation of the wealthy from the poor. The unwashed masses groveling on the dirty ground while the wealthy high up, relaxing in a private oasis (sipping champagne). I know, a little much. But if these types of structures are to be built they MUST be accesible to everyone.

[@TheStarBlack]

​@@who2u333its not about the building design, it's about the motivation behind it. Which is, as always, profit profit profit. The supposed benefit to citizens, sorry consumers, is pure marketing. Nothing beats ground level public space for accessibility, freedom and democratisation.

[@ZarHakkar]

I was worldbuilding a cyberpunk dystopia once. A concept I came up with was the Stack. Basically all the skyscrapers of a city become pillars for a massive platform that becomes the 2nd level of the city. The top level gets all the sun and parks, and is where the upper class work and live, while the below level becomes the slums where all the lower class undesirables work, live, and die silently, forever suffused with trash, crime, pollution, and darkness.

[@louiscypher4186]

That's a pretty common concept in cyberpunk. Usually they call it the bottom level the old city or the undercity.

[@pcenero]

Coruscant and DFZ (Rachel Aaron) has that kinda thing

[@alexanderboulton2123]

​@pcenero I watched Blade Runner recently and I thought, "This is basically just Coruscant."

[@breadscream6619]

Welcome to piltover and zaun

[@MartinLeong25]

Your idea is now mine

[@Errzman]

Making places more walk-able and encouraging people to mingle in public spaces would be great. I would be somewhat worried about whether these spaces would be accessible to everyone however. If sky scrapers were thought more as public infrastructure rather than a private industry, i would definitely want to live in one of these interconnected cities!

[@TimeLemur6]

I'm envisioning public cut-throughs in otherwise private buildings, that one can traverse at any time of day, regardless of if the host building is open or accessible, kinda like some malls (except when a bridge connects directly to a specific store). If the host building has publicly accessible facilities on that floor, they could have additional entrances in their skybridge "lobbies" as well.

[@indfnt5590]

Yea a project like this would get public funding and then ban anyone who can’t pay $80 per entry and hundreds on drinks. 💀

[@bikesformice]

@@indfnt5590Depends on where you are and how your municipality operates. We have these in Canada, and while they’re not open 24 hours, they are considered a public amenity that anybody can use for free.

[@sarahwatts7152]

I thought about this too. For this to be some public/utopian service, you would need access for $0, and you would need to provide people a reason to want to be in both buildings. I'm a little skeptical about the residential/garden bridge example here, because most people are just going to go to their apartments. Unless there are different services in each residential block, I'm just not seeing the use case here (apart from the aesthetic)

[@BellaBellaElla]

You should move to the twin cities in Minnesota then! St. Paul's isn't as extensive as Minneapolis' , but it was built mostly by the public sector not the private one! :)

[@BalthasarCarduelis]

The city of Calgary, Alberta, which has very cold winters, has a network of skybridges, downtown, called, the +15 system (because the bridges are 15 feet above the ground floor). It was designed by architect, Harold Hanen, in 1970. A pedestrian can walk from one end of downtown to the other without ever stepping foot out into the cold. The University campus, further north, is also connected with a similar system, although some connections are at ground level or below; students can walk from any faculty to another without ever stepping out into the snow.

[@ken.potter]

Came here looking for the fellow Calgarians.

[@MrRhys103]

Well I really enjoy the sky bridge in the winter, I find it makes downtown so much less vibrant in the summer. The streets downtown have very few restaurants and few people are walking around outside. It also sucks that the +15 closes in the early afternoon as it’s really just meant for 9-5 businesspeople, rather than an extension of a dense and lived-in urban city.

[@jp-ui6qg]

Toronto and Montreal have similar systems burred under the ground. wonderful in the winter.

[@DawnDavidson]

@@jp-ui6qgI think that makes the most sense. The earth will keep the temperature more consistent, acting as an insulator. 😊

[@wardsdotnet]

The problem with this idea is the ground is public but the bridge levels are usually privately owned, which is very exclusive of the less privileged

[@mikeciul8599]

I just went back and watched your video on interior urbanism, "The Bewildering Architecture of Indoor Cities." I was surprised this new video was so positive about skybridges because the old one seemed much more cautious about creating extended interior spaces. It seemed to me like there were some serious issues: problems of inconsistent management with connected spaces owned by different entities, disorientation and disconnection from the outdoors, questions about freedom within commercially-controlled space... and bad smells (in the Chicago pedway). Did your attitude towards interior urbanism change, or is there something different about this vision of skybridges?

[@fruitshuit]

One of the crucial problems that needs to be considered with these skybridges is that if access to these bridges comes via other buildings, this means the entrances and in many cases the bridges themselves are privately owned. The roads (and many other public spaces like parks) on the surface city are the common property of all the citizens, and it's that common ownership that allows us to exercise our rights like free speech and the right to protest. That cruise ship in the sky, can the owners exclude you if you don't "fit in"? If you look like a bum? If your skin is the wrong colour (even if they'd deny that's the reason)? What if you grab a soapbox and stand on it to preach the gospel, or to share your unpopular political views (left or right)? I might be wrong but I'm guessing you'd be asked politely to leave, then not-so-politely removed. It's of paramount importance that we preserve the right of all citizens to be in the public spaces.

[@DinosawrsAreAwesome]

Yeah, it's incredibly disingenuous to call them 'public spaces' when they're privately owned and operated.

[@jpp7783]

Isn’t that the same as shopping malls, private clubs, private schools, vacation places (club med, Disney, cruises or the ever-popular “gated communities” that are so popular in the US? It seems like there’s no expense people will spare to separate themselves from the common man.

[@ericsutherland461]

In the S'pore example that entire integrated resort is designed to pump people into a casino and have them leave after a couple of days with just enough money to make it to the airport.

[@urbanfile3861]

Canada's underground shopping malls could be taken as an example. They connect many private buildings underground and, whilst they are different malls with different owners, they're open to public.

[@bengoacher4455]

@@jpp7783 after spending any length of time with the common man, you too yearn for a private retreat with only people like you in it. Be it a private golf course, luxury apartment building, or even your own back yard.

[@cmwHisArtist]

I love the idea of more parks and vegetation on all levels. However sometimes the tendency is to create very boring English garden style areas, repetitive plants, same type of tree every ten feet, all the same flower beds, a bench every 50 feet. They should make totally different vignettes, so that it’s more fun to explore, more random , like nature.

[@theaveragepro1749]

wait till you see hostile architecture parks, places that designed to check the box for park but they dont actually want it to be used by anyone

[@cmwHisArtist]

@@theaveragepro1749 ….thats a thing, they call them “ hostile architecture parks”? Do they look like the little cardboard mock-ups the architects do for their clients?

[@DawnDavidson]

@@cmwHisArtistGoogle for hostile architecture in NYC. It’s sadly a thing.

[@TaLeng2023]

​@@cmwHisArtistthe benches, sidewalks, etc have spikes, studs and stuff to discourage people lying down.

[@jumpgenx2571]

I’m really surprised that the Minneapolis skyway system wasn’t mentioned. Seems like a perfect case study to discuss the pros and cons of a “3 Dimentional” city.

[@usa1mac]

The video included clips of it, but no mention of it. It's the largest above street level system in the world today. Very odd oversight.

[@jpp7783]

Or Calgary’s “+15”, so named because the bridges connecting dozens of downtown offices are about 15’ above the ground. It’s very popular in that cold weather city. But it has caused the downtown street-level life to wither.

[@adellis24]

@@usa1mactechnically Calgary’s system is larger than Minneapolis’.

[@ereceeme]

@@adellis24 maybe the ground level should be reserved for traffic, utility instalations and supply deliery. ervet thing else above.

[@Bulldogarf]

Also Des Moines, IA has a pretty extensive skywalk system in its downtown area.

[@ImHavingaCoronary]

50 years from now. "How did ground level become a sunless crime den, only populated by the homeless?"

[@piercenigel4670]

hahhaahhahaha perfect.

[@alpacaofthemountain8760]

We already have the homeless. More space will help the housing problem.

[@piercenigel4670]

@@alpacaofthemountain8760 lol. nyc is building and building. none of those flats is going to houseless people

[@Ralzone]

​@@piercenigel4670corporativism really screwed the USA, huh?.. I wonder when it'll be worth going to work and live in america again..

[@alastairthegreat2887]

​@@piercenigel4670you misspelled bums

[@MikhailKutzow]

Skybridges are interesting, and I can't deny there's some science-fiction romance to them. Though I wonder how practical they will ultimately be. A lot of the examples in the video seem to be very extravagant, high-concept applications. Certainly fun and appealing to look at, but often seemingly of questionable necessity. There's certainly some uses for them. But I find it hard to imagine these being especially practical outside of extremely dense areas, which could benefit from splitting foot traffic up between the ground and higher levels. It would also be necessary to put in place proper legal and social frameworks to make these into public spaces, not private spaces.

[@fallslikeicarus]

Fun fact! The skybridges of HK shown in 2:40 and 3:26 both cross the same main arterial road and actually connect to eachother via other buildings - in fact many of the shots from HK shown here are all of Hong Kong Island's central elevated walkway, and are connected to eachother via malls and office buildings. And since skybridges in HK count as public space, the malls that connect them must also accommodate for that and remain accessible 24/7 if the mall is the only point of entry. There's a book on it called 'Cities Without Ground' that explores HK's walkways in detail

[@ericsutherland461]

The one at 3:26 connects to Pacific Place. There is a food court in Pacific Place that for many years had 'construction' on the public toilets every Sunday when domestic workers get the day off. It was just a petty and racist way to keep them from using the toilets (they did hang out in the mall and on the bridge). There are boundaries in these kinds of 'open to the public' spaces that not everyone experiences.

[@ArchOfWinter]

I love that book! Makes me wish Google Map would have 3D map that isn't of the exteriors using satellite images.

[@mfaizsyahmi]

It's really one successful implementation of the pedestrian separation scheme, together with Toronto's PATH system, and London's murdered pedways system. Imo it's a separate thing from the topic of this video because it just separates the ground level uses (i.e. cars on the ground level, pedestrians are above/below said ground level). It only has a little overlap with sky bridges in that it's elevated.

[@dju-dju]

The video (very good btw) missed to talk about the sociological and political problems skybridges would create. For example, they would likely create a class division when the wealthy wouldn’t need to go down on the poorest people’s level.

[@Wario198]

The fact that this was entirely missing from a 17 minute video, but they had time to get exited about how skybridges can save money on fire safety makes this a trash video. A widely used and extensive skybridge network would have immense sociological impacts. To completely ignore this is insane.

[@parzivalnekka3363]

@@Wario198that is not necessarily the case. The Plus 15 in Calgary, Alberta has the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and 86 bridges connecting 130 buildings as of 2022.

[@Droxal]

​@@parzivalnekka3363 Why isn't it the case? I have been to Calgary before (and Edmonton), and I can't help but feel that Downtown Calgary feels quite desolate most of the time due to the lack to street level activity (at least around the offices). I have talked to many people from Calgary who never step foot into downtown (street level) because they can park in a parade, get directly into their office without steeping a foot outside, work in their office, and go to the Plus 15 for lunch and all other needs. I remember talking to an old co-worker of mine who has an intense fear of Downtown Calgary. Apparently she used to work in Downtown Calgary, and she refused to step outside of the Plus15 Network due to a fear of getting stabbed, and of course drove to the office so had no need to walk outside. I think these type of societal fears, and negative attitude towards the city and the people (including homeless) is made worse by networks like these. Am I saying that these networks shouldn't exist, no. I think they have a net positive on the city. But to ignore the negative effects is probably not good either.

[@karakaaa3371]

Yup, it just shows how out of touch the preachy elite are up on their ivory towers.

[@seigeengine]

That would be because you've made that up as some problem inherent in the solution, and ignored that that basically already exists.

[@dandaman404]

One of the pictures of skybridges was of the Skyway system in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's a network of semi-public walkways in downtown, mostly on the 2nd floor of buildings. It's much like the Pedway in Chicago, but even more extensive. Cities such as St. Paul, MN and Des Moines, Iowa also have smaller versions of a Skyway system as well. In these cases, it's a start of what you're talking about, but mostly due to the cold winters and a desire to not have to walk outside. When I was in these areas, I definitely found it fun to wander through these buildings and see what I could find.

[@alexanderboulton2123]

I was shocked he didn't even think to mention it.

[@EndTikTokandTwitter]

Those are basically just indoor pedestrian bridges though right? Like 1 story above ground level connecting malls and hotels and event space etc? Most cities I’ve been to in the east coast have this but I’m curious which city has the most extensive network, pretty sure Minneapolis tops it in the US

[@dandaman404]

@@EndTikTokandTwitter Yeah, that's what I've experienced in these midwest cities. Not just two buildings by the same developer connected, but an extensive network of indoor bridges connecting much of the downtown. In Des Moines I was surprised to find the skyway hallways were public and accessible 24/7--which is certainly not the case in Minnesota. I don't know how it works, but I expect some sort of public/private partnership making these public and kept clean and secure. But I guess that's my point. Just because public sky bridges doesn't happen much today, it doesn't mean it couldn't happen if the public and government encourage it.

[@kathrynporter5316]

Fun fact Minneapolis actually had the largest indoor 2nd floor walkway system in the world

[@bh-w2297]

The city of Calgary Alberta has a whole system of sky bridges all across the downtown core. This topic raises an interesting conversation about public vs. private space

[@LonkinPork]

Easily my least favorite thing about the PLus 15 system here is that most of the doors connecting parts of it aren't open 24/7, which I understand would require a bigger security budget but it's still frustrating that you can only explore during regular Working Hours

[@John159.78]

I visited Calgary once. My impression of the city was it was missing any kind of street life. Such a weird feeling discovering that everyone was inside this sky walk system. It seemed to be at the expense of anything happening at ground level.

[@dragonwizord92]

Winnipeg kind of does with well by they split it half in the underground and half above ground

[@advista1862]

When you work in Calgary fulltime, when it’s -30degrees outside it’s not very fun….

[@InTheNameOfMusic77]

i live in calgary! the +15 network is the biggest skybridge network in the world. the problem with it is that after working hours a lot of the buildings will lock their doors to the +15 so you can only really use it during business hours

[@kl3nd4thu]

I remember in Architectural school in the 90s, the skybridges were shunned. Our teachers taught us that they really didn't work in L.A. Their reasoning was that all of the activity at ground level is now elevated off of the city plane. So what you are left with is a dead zone at ground level. At that time, it didn't have the same amount of residential activity and Downtown was a dead city after work or on the weekends. I think skybridges are cool and all, but then you need to have major security in urban cities. It will be hard for LA though. There is an overpass in Downtown that has visible homeless tents on them. If you drive on the 101, you know where it is. So are these future sky bridges public space? Or are they open to just the residents or tenants of your buildings.

[@deanonesense]

The cheapest solution to homelessness is housing.

[@calvenknox8552]

@@deanonesense If you think homelesness is only a housing issue, then you've never been a part of a program that tries to help them.

[@deanonesense]

@@calvenknox8552 just because people who are unhoused have issues other than being unhoused doesn't change that the cheapest solution to people unhoused is housing and that addressing their other issues gets a lot easier when they are housed.

[@calvenknox8552]

@@deanonesense And if they very literally don't want to be?

[@Maplaplaplapla]

​@@calvenknox8552Are you confusing housing with stuffing people into warehouses with rules that approach human rights violations?

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

This idea tracks perfectly in cold climates. I would like to more inverse design too, with cities extending below ground in places like the desert, high plains, and windy plateaus.

[@jasonreed7522]

My college in northern NY had them between all of the academic buildings, they are really convenient. (And help reduce the energy costs by reducing the amount of times doors are opened letting in outside air that then has the be conditioned.)

[@yeetgaming69]

there is a town called coober pedy in australia where all the houses are built underground because the surface is too hot.

[@TaLeng2023]

In hot climates too. I just hate walking outdoor past 4 AM.

[@chucktangy]

Sky bridges in the US were mostly a vestige of the 1970s when crime was much higher and going outside was considered more dangerous. The sky scrapers built then were mostly isolated islands in "dangerous" downtown centers that you were trapped in for 8 hours. Everything was provided to you: cafeterias, barbers, laundry services, etc. All the conviences were provided to keep you "safe" inside. It also took a long time to get out of the tower so you minimized how much you left the building. The building was your castle holding off the "crime infested public." I think about some of the windowless buildings built in downtown centers where the outside was considered too ugly to even create windows. Sky bridges are just isolated sidewalks to prevent the interaction between the elite and the general public. I wouldn't want to go back to that. Besides the age of the sky scraper is waning in America anyway. We don't work in isolated sections of the city anymore. Location just isn't as valuable as it once was. Just look at the original example of the sky bridge this video gives. It's sole purpose is to isolate the criminal from being out within the public. That's exactly what they do isolate people.

[@emdxemdx]

Skybridges can arise from need. Looking at historical photos of where I live (Montréal), I notice that as industries expanded, they often threw skybridges accross streets, lanes and even rail lines... I can think of at least 4 of them in my neighborhood. Alas, most of them were removed as those industries closed over the years. But my father lives in such a building whose skybridge above a lane still stands, and I make a point of walking through it as often as possible...

[@BS-vx8dg]

I remember the first time I saw a skybridge; it was in the summer of 1981, and I was traveling through Minneapolis. The downtown had numerous skybridges at the second story level, and I remember thinking how genius this was for a place that got as much snow as the Twin Cities. I think they're beautiful. However, a few observations: 1) at around 4:10 the gentleman speaks of how we need to build skybridges to increase the number of people that we house. This is balderdash. No one has an apartment on a sky bridge. 2) at 8:17 we see this beautiful recreational area on top of three buildings. I'm assuming that this area is not a public space, that it is available only to people who live in or have offices in the building. Anyone who is concerned with the increasing economic stratification of our society has to be alarmed at this Elysium-like amenity. I wonder if Jodie Foster is patrolling the entrances below to keep out undesirables. I guess, as much as I like sky bridges from an aesthetic standpoint, I don't see them as really having sufficient significant societal benefits to justify government financial support, as the one gentleman seems to think should happen.

[@emiliodiaz2748]

rightt, like this could very easily become dystopian, think the higher class living and moving through this high rise network and the slums being at the ground level, pretty sure I’ve seen something like this on a move

[@dandaman404]

Just because a sky bridge is usually a private space because it's in a private building doesn't mean it could not be public. Developers/owners could work with the government to provide a truly public space within the building, especially if given the right incentives. It is done in some cases, although it's certainly not very common these days. It could be done, though.

[@yadude_log]

Gives star wars vibes, where all the wealthy live at the top layers of Coruscant and the poor live in lower layers that don't even get sunlight

[@harenterberge2632]

​@@dandaman404color me sceptical. My experience is that businesses quickly try to wiggle out of obligations to keep such places public.

[@lyfthis8978]

A follow up to the Petronas Twin Towers skybridge albeit much closer to ground would be the public elevated walkway linking the Towers to Pavilion Mall. Though not in the sky, it does connect several high-traffic buildings together in a cool air conditioned environment. Perfect when temperatures reach 35 degrees Celcius (95 in Fahrenheit) during the hottest months and when rain batters down during the monsoon season.

[@aimanmohammad7749]

As Malaysian who really reside at KLCC area, the skybridge between building is suitable and a need. We have a lot such a M City Ampang, Datum Jelatek. It’s a private area that increases the amount and quality of open spaces that consist pool, garden and other facilities to the residences. Now when it’s refer to skybridge that use in an urban area to connect and mitigate people from one attraction to the other is 50-50 for me. It’s just shows that the ground floor connection/pedestrian/pavement and lot other name, fails. Fails to provide safe, active and accessible connections. Thus a quite classist take was made, leaves the ground floor to huge mess and cars. Can’t compare it to the Highline, it’s a repurpose structure.

[@profwaldone]

It also doesnt help that we already have failed skyway projects. Due to them comming hand in hand with brutalism alot ended up being dark, cramped places that the general popules avoided, quickly followed by criminals moving into the gaps. Causing a sort of snowball effect of terribleness.

[@toobig7150]

Brutalism gets a lot of bad rep, sure it is not pretty (for most people) BUT as someone who was born and raised In a communist build block let me tell you, they are cheap efficient and always have priority on the people, not cars, not being big but empty. Idk, I just love the concept of them.

[@1999Boarder]

Another use of skybridges is for Hospital movement! Bridges where a care team does not need to transfer a patient via ambulance and can instead move a patient in the same bed between two building. Check out the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in my city of Philadelphia.

[@BS-vx8dg]

Good point; two hospitals in Jacksonville have such a bridge that goes over Interstate 95.

[@Patmorgan235Us]

IIRC many of the hospitals in the Texas Medical Center in Houston are connected, they also have a district hearing/cooling system

[@danieldonaldson8634]

Kind of the exact opposite of every example shown in the video, but agree the this is a very well adapted use. Perhaps, because they tend not to have corporate logos on them, Mr Hicks and his profession tend to overlook something merely practical.

[@drescherjm]

In the Pittsburgh (at the University of Pittsburgh campus) we have at least a half dozen hospital and medical research buildings linked together on a hill we call cardiac hill because of its slope and difficulty to walk from the bottom to top. Many of these were originally separate institutions however now they are all part of either UPMC or the University of Pittsburgh. I started as a student in the university in 1989 and now I work for them for 26+ years after I received my degrees in CS and EE.

[@jayc222]

Spokane, WA is a good example of an American city with an extensive, city-wide sky bridge network. Granted, they are pretty basic (no parks, pools, etc) but it’s nice in the Winter or while it’s raining.

[@xanseviera]

I'm from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I'm so glad to see all the Malaysia's building references. I crossed the sky bridges between buildings everyday on my way to work because it's too hot to walk outside. I never think it's one of the marvels in engineering, I thought it's just one of the urban design necessaties. ^^;;

[@F-14B]

The coldest temperature in Malaysia would be comparable to a neutron star, everytime you go outside you literally get vaporized

[@markzzzzberg1312]

@@F-14B the coldest temperature in Malaysia is on top of Mount Kinabalu where the temperature can drop to -4°C and sometimes there's also a light snowfalls on top of there

[@F-14B]

@@markzzzzberg1312 i was joking, thanks for the fun fact though

[@brucealanwilson4121]

Interesting. I've been reading for years about how BAD sky bridges were bad as they destroyed street life. They describe such systems as 'hampster warrens.'

[@matthewarnold4557]

If they were that worried about Street life. They would be advocating for car free walkable zones in their downtown. What you actually read was just boomers complaining about new things

[@TaLeng2023]

​@@matthewarnold4557Hopefully it would not be like in most dystopia where the ground level just become a dark congested place.

[@matthewarnold4557]

@@TaLeng2023 generally walkable cities have a lot of open green spaces and places for people to gather. Even if you look at the commie blocks in Russia and eastern Europe. The buildings are still far enough away to have apple green space while being several stories tall

[@lego_met]

As a couple other commenters have mentioned, with skybridges there’s a concern about public access. As someone who grew up in Singapore, calling the top of MBS a “fantastic urban park” is difficult when you have to buy a $20 ticket, pay for expensive drinks at the bar, or heck, book yourself at the hotel. If anything, it’s supposed to feel exclusive. If we’re talking 3D cities, I think the most interesting examples are also not the most architecturally flashy. Regardless of whether you enjoy shopping malls, the fact that you can travel between so many malls on Singapore’s orchard road without leaving the basement is, I feel, a much more impressive demonstration of connected public space. Similarly, around Jurong East, you can travel between a number of malls on skybridges. Helps that in both cases there are public transit connections right there.

[@lego_met]

Another thought…Thamesmead in London could be considered a cautionary tale about skybridges. While the estate was connected with numerous elevated walkways - “pedestrian life safely raised above traffic” they disregarded routes that people would actually want to take, and ultimately became a dangerous place. A Guardian article describes it as a “confusing, crime ridden labyrinth”. Not trying to completely bash the idea of sky bridges - definitely think they have their place! - but I’d at least think critically about some of the utopian descriptions

[@RRW359]

I think that's the main issue with the video. It focuses too much about connecting buildings and doesn't focus at all about WHY the buildings are disconnected; if you really want a sustainable future or a 3d City you can't have massive roads carrying Cars through the middle of it. Once you remove those you can just build full-sized useable multi-floor buildings between the two instead of just connecting them with a single bridge.

[@seigeengine]

Sure, but the same problem exists in streets at ground level. Nothing fundamentally prevents them from being made private, except regulation. People need to stop acting like such problems are real. We make them up and can make them disappear just by deciding to.

[@RRW359]

@@seigeengine It's actually already happening but most don't realize it. The reason we "need" skybridges is because you can be fined if you are inbetween the sidewalks but don't have a registered and insured vehicle as well as a card showing that the government has given you the privilege to use such a device on public roads.

[@seigeengine]

​@@RRW359 I didn't ask for your bullshit.

[@---l---]

In Spokane Wa sky bridges killed all the street level business. Everything was locked behind private buildings.

[@BS-vx8dg]

That is an extremely important data point, @I. I wonder if other cities, like Minneapolis, have had similar experiences.

[@ulla.umlaut]

@@BS-vx8dg Yes. Downtown Minneapolis and Downtown St Paul have had difficulty maintaining business at the street level because weekday office workers were all on the second floor in the skyways. During and post the COVID work from home boom many of skyway level businesses have also closed, at least partly because rent on those fully interior spaces was too high, and the buildings aren't open 24/7.

[@BS-vx8dg]

@@ulla.umlaut Thanks for that info.

[@growingup15]

Finally a video on Sky bridges and Skywalk Networks. I'm happy that I'm not the only one obsessed with them.

[@kattttttt]

Just came back from Asia myself, spent a few weeks in Malaysia and Singapore. Visited both the Patronas and Marina Bay Sands. The sheer scale and engineering skills that goes behind it truly doesn't show itself until you go and see it in person. Interesting video to pop up!

[@hobog]

Skybridges and tunnels are great public spaces in cold/hot climates. High-rises were miserable during pandemic, because elevators were throttled in capacity. In general, taller buildings are less efficient for water and sewage utilities.

[@E1Luch]

Pumping 10 cubic meters of water (roughly my monthly consumption) 100 meters up (30 - 35 floor building) takes 9.81 m/s^2 * 10 m^3 * 1000 kg/m^3 * 100 m = 9810000 J = 2.725 kwh. Thats like 1.5% of my monthly electricity consumption, and pumps are already 80-90% efficient. I already spend way more energy just for cooking than I would on pumping water. And sewage just falls down on its own.

[@E1Luch]

Also denser cities mean shorter central sewers, which means fewer lifting stations so less energy spent and fewer failure points.

[@seigeengine]

Yes, but consider that you have to get the VOLUME of sewage and water up and down, which takes up more space the taller your building is.@@E1Luch

[@Studious_Studios]

Thank you for this amazing and fascinating video. I just built the Marina Bay Sands in Lego (from their architecture product line). I hope we'll see more and more skystructures. Starting with basic skybridges and moving forward to all kinds of amenities : skyparks, skyports (for E-VTOL vehicles), skybars of course (like rooftop ones), skygyms (like streetworkout, usually found in parks, but this time out of the pollution).... I've also heard about Sky Habitat in a book (Rooftops : islands in the sky). I would love to live there !

[@barryrobbins7694]

I agree with many people’s concerns about the possibility of skybridges creating a class divide - literally upper class (skybridges) and lower class (sidewalks).

[@sleepyguardian1962]

once i wrapped my head around the concept i immediately thought of KOTOR. you start on a planet that is one big mega city and all the buildings are connected by massive bridges. only the extremely poor live in the "undercity" on the ground level

[@stephenspackman5573]

Interestingly, many people worry about the opposite. In the UK there seems to be a certain amount of FUD about elevated walkways becoming the special preserve of urban blight. I think what's going on is that because three dimensionality is pretty much only the result of policy, the attacks on them are more readily politicised than other features. Are they a feature of social housing? Then they are attacked as a sump for the poor. Are they encouraged as a feature of the corporate landscape? Then they are attacked as jungle of the capitalists. Are they deployed in a single party state? Mm, then no one is really in a safe position to criticise them. Me, I like them in Canada, I like them in the UK, I like them in Singapore, I like them in Hong Kong. I think they're great anywhere with density or a climate. Just make them nice, and admit that your social problems are caused by, well, anitisocial people in all partitions of society, not by architecture. Correlation is not causation, and rhetoric is not truth.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@stephenspackman5573 Those are good points. It is not the bridge necessarily but policies associated with them. I was thinking of high rise gated communities.

[@barryrobbins7694]

@@sleepyguardian1962 In some cities the wealthy live in the hills and the poor in the valley below. In other cities it is the opposite. High rise towers interconnect with bridges might be more like vertical gated communities.

[@stephenspackman5573]

@@barryrobbins7694 A couple of metro stops away from that elevated infinity pool in Singapore is what appears to be a regular public apartment complex that has bridges between its three or four towers at several levels. I'm not sure, but I think there's park on them. As a design pattern for the future it seems like a good thing-it's certainly a nice change-but the policies, definitely, we need to stay on top of. Gated communities suck (and I say that as someone currently living in one, I guess). They block people going for a normal walk and they effectively prevent the provision of normal amenities, quite aside from any segregational effects. A lose-lose IMO. I don't know what people are thinking.

[@mitchellwall7805]

I live in Iowa and Skybridges (locally known as Skywalks) used to be a feature of downtown areas and connected all of downtown (Des Moines and Cedar Rapid). The City has been moving towards removing them or at least not expanding them. As larger businesses are moving to the suburbs the shops and small restaurants that once filled the skywalks are closing. Since that point, there has been an increase in crime/homelessness as it is harder to police. I could see a similar problem happen if these were implemented city-wide in a place like Chicago or New York, it becomes massively inefficient to police the areas which could lead to a stigma of being unsafe when trying to use them outside of peak hours.

[@Electrodexify]

They are really removing them in DSM? It almost feels like every time I go there new skywalks are there

[@mitchellwall7805]

@@Electrodexify Not as much removing them in DSM, I don't think they are expanding them mostly maintaining existing ones (cedar rapids is removing them). If you walk through the DSM ones there is a lot of empty space where stuff used to be

[@Electrodexify]

@mitchellwall7805 the one area that I noticed that was empty, was the mall. Which I heard was going to be demolished and replaced by the "Fifth". Outside of that, I don't remember what else is missing

[@zanzaben]

Weird that you didn't mention tunnels at all. Something like the Chicago pedway does a lot of the same things by enabling a 3D city. There is even a video about it on this channel.

[@F0xtastic]

I love the idea of designing buildings in a city to mimic mountains. Layer things carefully to allow green spaces and strategic light to get through, unlike very straight tall towers that fight airflow and light and don't provide very good framework for green space. Of course the contrast of two big tall towers with a bridge in the middle is neat, but the more generous examples with many large bridges between more varied-height buildings is a lot more exciting from a human standpoint! I hope it starts to happen more in the near future and isn't put off forever in the US just because it's not profitable in the short term.

[@seigeengine]

Okay, but that just makes the core problem of buildings becoming less efficient on space as they get taller due to larger amounts of the internal space being required for things like elevators and whatnot worse. The idea is to have denser living spaces. Saying you want mountain shaped buildings in cities is kind of like saying "but I want a backyard, let's move to the suburbs."

[@F0xtastic]

​ @seigeengine I may have been unclear. I'm suggesting laying out high-density buildings of varied heights in a strategic way so that they flow like a mountain might. If it helps clarify, the idea is to change the overall flow of buildings in relation to one another more than the shape of individual buildings themselves. So stick-straight super tall buildings would still have a place, but would also be part of a network of buildings surrounding them with varied heights that have a complimentary flow. Pair that with green rooftops wherever possible, and you can imagine being in the tallest tower and seeing a flow of gradually descending fields of green, similar to a mountain. Cities already have varied heights; this would in theory just add a layer of extra planning to tie them together in a more effective way. For individual buildings you could still largely have plain old stick towers as needed, but I'd also like to see a taller version of this type of shape: twitter.com/GreenBuildNews/status/1050075763360325633

[@seigeengine]

@@F0xtastic I like how you started by denying what I said, but then proved what I was saying correct with the rest of your comment. Never mind that your "no I actually meant..." is contradicted by the comment I was replying to in the first place.

[@F0xtastic]

@@seigeengine do you actually care about what I mean to communicate and whether those ideas could actually work well, or do you just want to gotcha me?

[@seigeengine]

If anyone's gotcha'ing you, it's yourself. People don't typically actually mean to contradict themselves moment to moment.@@F0xtastic

[@LonkinPork]

I live in Calgary, which is somewhat famous for its "Plus 15" skybridge network that interconnects many of the big office buildings in the downtown core. I don't work in any of those buildings so I don't use it much, but it's fun to explore. There's a shopping mall and a few disparate food courts scattered throughout the system, it's really something

[@indyola9738]

I am really surprised that there was no mention of Calgary's Plus 15 system of skybridges. It is the world's most extensive pedestrian skywalk system connecting 130 buildings with a total length of 16 kilometres (10 miles) and is used by over 20,000 pedestrians per day.

[@nikaley]

My mind went back to an arte documentary about how the inner parts of complexes in Paris were meant to be public domain, but ended up being closed off. Therefor increasing the walking time by up to 45 minutes, since individuals and groups had to walk around the blocks to get to where they wanted to get to. So: public sky bridges would be great, but I don‘t think the inhabitants and land owners would want to constantly deal with people who don‘t belong to the premise(s).

[@regenen]

All these amazing urban ideas people have come up within the last decades to improve communities and socialization within these cities have resulted in... their inhabitants being the least happy and most lonely citizens of their countries. These skywalks are just for walking, you don't create social spaces with them, you just sreamline and seclude peoples daily life even more. You guys come up with anything but actually trying to create cities in which local community life can be created; work, shopping, living and fun social spaces mixed together where people of a neighborhood meet eachother. Creating 'villages' inside cities is a better way to make peoples' lives better than to centralize everything besides living into downtown.

[@tbnprathades1631]

There's a sky bridge in my town where it's filled with stores and windows so we can see the road. While people especially people with bikes below the bridge can use them as a cover from the sun and rain. It bridges between 2 malls and above a busy road.

[@nickmcintyre3034]

Where is that one located?

[@manuelka15]

Throughout the whole video I was thinking what everyone is saying in the comments: are these places really public? It wasn't even mentioned. All this probably paints big corportations that can create such structures as the good guys, while more realistically, the solution for this sort of problems would be to increase middle density and improve public transit.

[@LacrymosaRequiem27]

The Umeda Sky Building in Osaka is another really cool example. The two towers of the building are connected by an observatory platform that offers stability in earthquakes like (according to the tour) two friends holding hands on the subway.

[@Matei2575Cip]

One sky bridge is an interesting and cool concept as an addition to a city, having dozens of them throughout the metropolitan area would lead more to something similar to a dystopia, blocking sunlight from the ground level, concentrating even more wealth and people to a small area in extreme cases if skyscrapers would be incentivized to be built and many more issues that could be listed. The idea of an ideal city is that it is more humane, has plenty of green spaces, a city in which you can feel connected to nature, but also feel like in a city. Too much of anything is bad. Not even mentioning the extremely irrealistic statements of the population of cities going from 1 million to 20 million in 20 years, which is not only impossible world wide but in the only cases in which it would be applicable what is certain cities from Africa, they would not have the damn funding to build these futuristic skyscrapers with bridges when they struggle with just creating a good power grid, sewer system, public transport, etc. Whatever this video goes in my playlist of "dumb things"

[@0.-.0]

You: *imagines the worst possible version of implementing sky bridges* You: this is so dumb!

[@twerkingfish4029]

I fondly remember a convention I attended in Duluth, MN (very cold), where I was able to walk from the convention center, over a road, rail, and highway, past a transit center (which the bridge connected to), and through two additional buildings to go get lunch that day. Although there had clearly been a decline in the retail there, the building I was in even had a little park-like thing within the mall-courtyard area. This vision immediately makes more sense to me, from seeing how it was done when they didn't have a choice but to develop that way...though in that case it was all skyways on the second and third floors.

[@emoore0613]

New to the site but worked for 33 years at Loyola University, many of them at the Water Tower campus starting in 1986. Greatly appreciate all that you’re doing!

[@russianbear0027]

My university had a system of skybridges between about half the buildings on campus. It was pretty awesome to be able to go from class to class that way. My partner and I once rode down them on roller blades and bicycle at like 1 am too. My highschool actually had one too now that I think about it. Irrc it covered two floors.

[@BS-vx8dg]

What university, russianbear? Ohio U, by chance?

[@alohadave]

My high school has two on the second floor, connecting two wings over a courtyard. The wings are setup in a U shape, so going from one end to the other would be an inconveniently long walk.

[@BS-vx8dg]

@@alohadave That is a very sensible use of a skybridge that I would endorse. It also, on rainy days, keeps kids from getting wet between classes, the timing of which they have no control of.

[@roberthoople]

I've been working on a whole city design in CAD for almost 2 years, which encompasses the 3D City principles talked about by Dr. Antony Wood, based on ideas I've had for nearly 2 decades. So it's somewhat validating that others share this vision, and I am excited to eventually share renderings of what I've come up with.

[@mattjjacob]

Biggest issue with "skywalks" is that there's not enough demand for them, so they end up sapping ground level demand and eventually degrading the experience at ground level over time. Cities like Cincinnati that implemented a full system like this across the downtown area are now ripping them out as they age and need expensive maintenance in order to reactivate the ground level for increased safety and downtown activity

[@seannoithat9999]

Populations density is quite the required condition for 3D cities

[@yohann2768]

Here in Canada, I enjoeyd some of this 3D city concepts. There is the extensive underground tunnels in Montréal that conects multiple buildings and train/metro stations. I can also think of the elevated pathway in Toronto around the central train station. Those are quite usefull in bad weather. In Montreal, there is also a twin tower condo building connected by a skybridge under construction.

[@adellis24]

Toronto has the longest ‘continuous’ underground tunnel system in the country but the overall network in Montreal is slightly larger, for now.

[@aachor]

Houston, Texas also has a tunnel network. I think it makes more sense than skybridges because it can convert unmarketable basement space into valuable retail frontage.

[@livelikeitslegal]

It would be great to see the sky bridges of the future to include space for food gardens. It would really help balance the impact we have on the natural landscape.

[@zollgax]

My college had a few skybridges to connect buildings that were close to each other but on slopes where ground based paths would be way to steep

[@ArchOfWinter]

I'm from Hong Kong and I love sky bridges! The nearby mall and neighborhood near by childhood home had many bridges connecting one mall through 4 buildings, a lot more residential buildings, and via the subway station, to a different neighborhood into a different mall and into a department store. If I lived in the area, I could have went to the store, movie theater, or do other activities even during the stormiest of day without getting a drop of rain on me. The city near me in the US tore down the last sky bridge in recent year because of repair cost and lack of use. It's just sad because it connected the convention center to the parking garage. You can be warm and toasty driving to an event in the dead of winter, but had to venture out into the cold the last minute.

[@SJR_Media_Group]

Former Boeing Everett... When I worked at Boeing Everett, I was part of a large IT Support Team. Initially, I worked out of the Twin Towers; buildings 40-87 and 40-88. Both were 4 story tall office buildings sitting on top of 2 story parking garages. There were sky bridges connecting the buildings. The top one was an open bridge while other was enclosed. Each building could hold 4,000 employees or 1,000 per floor. The buildings had millions of square feet of space and large enough so that even with 8,000 people working never seemed like that many people compared to spaces. Incredible views from sky bridges looking toward Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound. I even contemplated moving my desk into the sky bridges to take advantage of the views. I asked Facilities Staff and they got a good chuckle.

[@EGO0808]

I was hoping you’d mention and show Le Nouvel KLCC kondominium, right opposite the Petronas Twin Towers, as this award winning condominium by Jean Le Nouvel also has a skybridge connecting the two towers at the 34th floor. And yes, special interest as I happen to live in the condominium 😊

[@philipschloesser]

To me it sounds like an easier way of having higher density and more easily accessible public (green) spaces would be to get rid of (most) cars in cities, reclaim street (and parking!) space, and get rid of single-family zoning (let's kill the lawn while we're at it...)

[@Arkelk2010]

Sure, if we were all just little programmable machines for the leaders to mold. (Which I think was the undercurrent if what you were saying.)

[@deus_ex_machina_]

@@Arkelk2010 The irony of your statement is palpable.

[@hcxpl1]

​@@deus_ex_machina_ he's a programmable machine only of the auto industry lobbyists, not the government! those that are the bad guys!

[@seigeengine]

Sure, but you're ignoring that the entire benefit of cities is density, and that skyways enable higher density by providing alternative paths to movement. Nobody wants to go down 50 floors to go to another building to travel back up 50 floors. Imagine a city where the public thoroughfare was half-way up the buildings, instead of at ground level, and consider how much more convenient that would be. You could achieve the same convenience at double the throughput by having one on the ground and another at the roof. Then consider the benefits of having interconnects at standardized levels between. Say, every 20 floors. An 80-floor building could have four levels of interconnection. Now imagine the opportunities that allows for reducing the distance needed to travel for your day to day life? Those access floors could be communal hubs, have shops, etc. You could have adjacent buildings where one is residential and the other offices, so people could just walk over a skybridge to work, instead of having to go to ground level, travel a distance, and then go back up another building.

[@priyapepsi]

@@Arkelk2010 freedom is when you get to sit in traffic for 2 hours (you can choose what lane to drive on or what color your car is (black or gray))

[@AlRoderick]

So picture this, a wide arterial road like you find in the middle of a lot of US cities. It has a nice wide sidewalk, then a two-way cycling path, then a row of car parking interrupted periodically by bus stops then two lanes of traffic (car, truck and bus) and a median and then mirror that on the other side. Above that is an elevated railway, the track and platforms sit at the notional third storey (I'm using the US convention where the ground floor is the first floor). The neighborhood is densified to the point where 5 to 8 floors is considered normal. At each station for the elevated railway you build a four-story station building on each side of the road, connected at the fourth story level with a conditioned skybridge, at the third story level with direct connections to the platforms and at the 5th story level with an outdoor aerial park that's on top of both buildings and the crossing. In the buildings at the side you have flights of escalators and lifts to take people to any level. The station would have a platform on each side so you would get off at floor 3 if you wanted to catch the train going the direction of your side of the street but you get off at 4 and cross over to get the train in the opposite direction or get off at 5 and take a little stroll through the park before descending two floors to the train. If you build one of these stations in a place where two lines have to transfer or intersect just move the crossings up one floor to give space for the trains to pass over each other. On the bottom of the structure you can have the traffic lights and street lighting and wires for the trolley buses that provide the local connectivity between L stops. Then you build out a third story elevated boardwalk on each side of the street, so you can walk in the sunlight on the upper level or if it's raining or snowing you can walk outdoors but under cover at street level. If you allow connections from the station building to the adjoining apartments and offices, then you could come up in the publicly maintained station elevators and only be one flight away from your destination if you were on the third 4th, 5th or 6th floor. You could effectively build three story row houses at ground level and then another three-story row house on top of that and no one would need an elevator inside their unit except for accessibility reasons. You could even have the 4th and 5th floor connect directly through the block to the next street, which might have a different elevated line running on it for an easy transfer.

[@mind-of-neo]

I would die to see a "3d city" where you have sky bridges echoing the street grid on many different floors. That would be soo cool.

[@luke_fabis]

Skybridge networks also rob the ground level of business, and generally seem to decay the character and quality of a city. They've been tried in London. They've been tried in Baltimore. They only promote social divides, increase crime, and serve as a only bandaid for the gaping, spurting, purulent wound that is car traffic. Which is a pity, because they look really cool. But the emphasis should be on making the overall infrastructure of a city more walkable than connecting skyscrapers to each other. It's better to tear down skybridges and make people get out onto sidewalks. No offense to Antony Wood here, but he invested his career into chasing a failed concept. I can feel both his enthusiasm and frustration, but he offers very little substance beyond grand proclamations about stuff we "must" do. It feels like someone pitching drive-in diners and theaters as the future of entertainment. Why get out of your car and move your legs when you can pull up and have it all brought to you?

[@pauld2810]

Here in Seattle, we have our own "Bridge of Sighs" that connects the courthouse on 3rd Avenue to the jail on 5th Ave. It's not as fancy as the one in Venice, but its scale impresses me nonetheless.

[@ivannightly1919]

Some North American cities have it, go for a walk in Calgary (the +15 skywalk/built on the 2nd story of most buildings) allows you to walk from one end of the city to the other with cafes and stores along the way it actually doubles the retail space in some places. In Shanghai china and Toronto Canada (PATH) they went the other way and its the basements connected to form access to the subway and a ton of retail space. I always loved sitting in a coffee shop on my way to work with the sun shine on a winters day. the interesting thing here is in these cases the walk ways address consumers and workers going out in bad weather conditions and add to retail sales while still reducing the need for cars and carbon foot print

[@RWCU2B]

Would love a postscript on what went wrong with Cincinnati's now defunct skywalk system. Only a few second-floor cross-street walkways remain. Turns out it wasn't good for business on any level.

[@albear972]

Old idea that's still very cool! When on vacation in Spain, France and Italy we saw many of those in Medieval era buildings. I thought that they were so friggin' ahead of their time.

[@champagne.future5248]

The medieval ones looks so much more beautiful than the ones we saw hear. Why are modern designers allergic to ornamentation? Modern skybridges are so utilitarian and basic

[@johnsamuel1999]

​@@champagne.future5248cost

[@EfaEfaBanefa]

I can just imagine a city where each public building is connected. Each bridge will bring you to a lobby where you can mingle with friends and travelling would be a lot simpler and safer! I can even imagine a map that shows you the 3D city rather than just the 2D plane

[@locomotive9000]

There's also the Vasari Corridor for the Medicis' private walkway. It's kind of an early skybridge, and much bigger than the Bridge of Sighs.

[@keagaming9837]

Many years ago I was in Kentucky for a conference and the hotel building I was in had a sky bridge connecting it to another much taller hotel building, it was amazing! I would use the sky bridge to get from one hotel building to the other for the conference, I didn’t have to go outside at all! The sky bridge had a restaurant on it and everything! If it is raining or storming and you need to get from one building to the next, that won’t be a problem! Is it cold outside? No problem! Do you not want to cross a dangerous street at a crosswalk or just watch the cars passing by from above? No problem with sky bridges! Sky bridges are amazing!

[@uniquesandoddities]

Indianapolis has a good number of sky bridges that connect a lot of key buildings and centers without ever needing to go outside. There’s an entire intersection covered with an indoor garden. It’s really nice not having to go down to the street to walk around. especially in the winter.

[@timogul]

I still want to see a large structure that is four massive towers, linked by skybridges and "ring platforms" around them at every 20-50 floors, with those floors acting as retail/dining promenades, and with certain floors designated for various types of businesses, so that people on upper floors never have to reach the ground floor, as anything they might need could be found within 100 or so floors of them.

[@regenen]

Dystopian. I don't want to live in a mars colony.

[@timogul]

@@regenen Some would, it would be a very convenient place to live, and for a lot of people, it would be fun. Of course you _could_ come and go as you please, nobody is saying you would be locked in there or anything, just that you should never _have_ to.

[@quantisedspace7047]

... like Deep Space Nine ?

[@timogul]

@@quantisedspace7047 Lol, kinda. :D It'd be more like a dozen or more DS9's stacked on top of each other though.

[@reggy1124]

Interconnecting access excluding the ground can also go DOWN - in Singapore, large stretches of area in the Cityhall and Orchard area have an underground area that connects buildings and houses shops and facilities build around the metro system and branching outwards.

[@LoneHowler]

My city Calgary is full of sky bridges. It is said a person could go almost anywhere within the downtown core without going outside using th +15 network. During winter they are very popular

[@grandpastone]

*The essential thing that everyone should be thinking about right now is investing in non-government sources of income. Especially in light of the current global economic crisis. It is still a wonderful moment to invest in gold, silver, digital money, and stocks.*

[@charitybucher]

@@Weems_The wisest thing that should be on everyone’s mind currently should be to invest in different streams of income that doesn’t depend on the government. Especially with the current economic crisis around the world. I recommend Mrs Mary Margaret Cartier🇺🇸

[@charitybucher]

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[@charitybucher]

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[@charitybucher]

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[@charitybucher]

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[@UltravioletNomad]

I would be interested in potential topics on how smaller cities and rural communities might bring more people in, though I realize thats also majorly a socio-economic issue (though I would also like to hear your thoughts on inflated rent and property prices). Its obvious that this rapid increase of density in cities isnt solely from population growth, but largely to mass migration into cities, and this is because aminities and opportunities dry up in lower income areas. I guess Im just wondering if there are groups or foundations, or even local government examples of smaller towns really turning things around (inspite of the fact that'd it really requires massive reform and actual enforcement of anti-trust policies to compete.)

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Montreal’s Maestria Condominiums project has reached a milestone with the successful hoisting and installation of the highest suspended skybridge joining two residential buildings ever built. The structure will eventually connect the 58- and 61-storey towers of Quebec’s mixed-use residential megaproject, at the 26th and 27th floors respectively.

[@MrSheckstr]

“Sky bridges” pedestrian bridges more than ten levels above the ground are NOT the solution to street level congestion… they are either luxury recreational hit spots for the elite…. Or transportation conveniences for the elites WITHIN a specific multi structure compound. Elevated passenger walkways and green spaces are pointless more than 10 levels above street level and should only rarely exceed 5 levels for a multiple if reasons 1 the higher up you put something the more expensive it is to put it there, the more expensive it is to maintain it, and the more expensive it is to KEEP it accessible to the public … Another concern is the engineering… high level walk ways are next to impossible to interconnect into a network because of the flexing that all building do at high levels and the fact that the further up to go, the more unlikely the floors will be on the same plane between buildings…. Requiring steps or ramps to transition Another thing to consider when making your city vehicle hostile is you are all making it more and more difficult to be serviced by contractors…. Everyone from the 200 year old US postal service to door dash is struggling to find places to park their vehicles to deliver your packages to you… ESPECIALLY considering you insist on these skywalks be lined with carpet and marble and your building management is very hostile on the types of carts vendors can use, and extremely stingy when it comes to loaning out carts…

[@NedTheUndead]

6:42 This comment about fire safety has the sound of a glass of milk left out in the sun, lets hope it ages better. "The boat is so safe we don't need as many life boats!" "Carbon fiber is so advanced we don't need certification!" "We saved money on the building cladding!" "Who needs that extra fire escape?! We have a whole 2nd building that isn't also on fire or in need of evacuation!"

[@Ludix147]

I like skybridges, but I don't like the extreme density vision. I guess for residential skyscrapers it makes sense to really interconnect them a lot. But for offices not so much, there aren't a lot of organisations at multi-skascraper-scale that are that interconnected socially

[@Ludix147]

It feels like Saudi megastructures all over again if taken to the extreme

[@jasonreed7522]

1 practical use of them is for universities and other "campuses" where they are very useful and the need for travel between buildings is obvious. My college had them and all of our buildings were 2-4 stories, and in the Northern NY winter or just a rainy day they are awesome. (So they aren't just for insane density)

[@mostlyguesses8385]

​​@@jasonreed7522... U of MN has some tunnels, but really walking across a block even in February is doable. But man there's a bridge over Mississippi at U of MN between West Bank and East Bank at same damn university that ain't heated and even indoors ones feet ache with cold after the 8 minute walk. Half of people walk the bridge, other half wait minutes at curb for bus, stupid school design!!! We need km long heated paths, how cares about short distances unless you're a wuss. Kidding.

[@watchthe1369]

It makes sense to connect sky lobbies together and you could also put some of the clever wind generators on them. some of the horizontal squirrel cage ones that could exploit the turbulent flow and funneling done by structures

[@PixelatedLlama]

Indianapolis has a couple big skybridge systems. One is the biggest skybridge system in the US that's open to the public, and even has a garden over a Downtown intersection. This skybridge system is used heavily by the convention industry. IUPUI also has a skybridge system. The most recent master plan for the campus calls for no new skybridges such as to activate pedestrian traffic outside, alone streets and in the university green.

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

While I can accept that skybridges might be appropriate solutions for a minority of megatower applications I don't think they're should be an important aspect of city fabrics. We need to reject the assertion that these spaces are in any way 'public space' (unless of course they are municipal property), because otherwise who is allowed to use them will depend on the discretion of the capital which controls them and whatever form of violence they use to enforce those whims. For instance the 'skyway' systems of the Twin Cities have decimated the street level urban fabric (socially and economically) and have led to hostile spaces that are privately policed to the detriment of the poor and community members of color. They're such a blatantly obvious element of enforced isolation and stratification enabled by the technological and design choices begun in the late 20th century. Prestigious firms and their vanity projects are not the font of good urbanism. We should also reject that the "solution" our growing populations is to add density to already incredibly dense places. Much of these problems can be solved by providing reparations to the communities that have faced the brunt of resource extraction because the destabilization of those local economies have the knock on effect of causing mass migration to megacities. Yes this is a bit of a pipe dream presently but we need to start talking about this if we're going to figure out how to share this closed loop system called Earth. Give people the resources and political freedoms to live good lives where they're from (and would probably love to have the ability to remain) and theres no reason for them to migrate, unless they're like a theater kid who wants to make it in the big city.

[@Wario198]

Really excellent comment. Absolutely staggering that they managed to fill a 17 minute video about skybridges without once mentioning the people excluded from these spaces. This is an excellent case study in why engineers and architects should not have a monopoly on discussions around urban design. Unfortunately, these are people who all too often completely ignore (typically marginalised) groups that don't align with or are excluded from their grand vision. Top down urban planning by "visionaries" or "experts" is invariably toxic. Whereas bottom up city design that reflects the values of the people who actually live there is the basis of the most vibrant and democratic urban spaces. The entire video is fawning over the theory without any reference to reality. Absolute trash take.

[@mrg0th1er83]

I am not a fan of super tall residential buildings. That is the only scenario where the bridge could be useful. I prefer lower residential blocks with street level commercial spaces and maybe tunnels to avoid the elements when needed. But the safety feature in cases of fire is quite interesting.

[@jaadotech]

Loved that you featured Marina Bay Sands , I had the pleasure of my boss buying me dinner on the outdoor restaurant at the top when I visited in a work trip in 2017. Watching the golden evening sunset and drinking a $120 USD glass of red wine was appropriate for such a iconic building!!

[@Ronamis]

Greetings, Stewart! Thanks for the great video. As a person who's working on a fantasy setting I would like to ask you some questions. I'm getting closer and closer to working on a "canal city", but my material culture reference frame is stylistically set earlier than Renascence. Aside from provided example of the Bridge of Sighs, are there any kinds of historical construction suitable for archaic or medieval period? What hypothetical construction problems would arise before an early medieval architect who tries to conceptualize a multi-layered city, that relies on multitude of canals? Thank you!

[@Schnorchmorch]

Imagine living directly under a skybridge, never getting any sunlight

[@BS-vx8dg]

Just about as bad is living directly over a skybridge, never being able to see the ground. I lived in this building ( bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/newsevents.illinoisstate.edu/dist/c/2/files/2015/02/WattersonTowers_1971_A17_ACCESS.jpg ) in one of the rooms that directly faced the other building *and* had the skybridge underneath, so we could pretty much just see the tarred roof of the skybridge.

[@haexxa9923]

Skybridges are an interesting idea, but I think tey'll be limited to very dense areas. I'm not sure if we'll see a lot of places like that in the future, due to sustainability. But maybe that's just my impression because we don't have a lot of skyscrapers here in germany (or even europe if I'm not mistaken).

[@danieldonaldson8634]

This raises the question of the underlying economics of tall and very tall buildings. The most successful, livable and walkable cities seem to be much more based on medium rise densification that's much more appropriate to transit systems, which taller buildings overwhelm once a certain level of density is achieved. None of this is likely to be brought up given Mr Hicks' primary interview subject's employer.

[@DJayBJay206]

Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Has a very extensive sky bridge system they call the skyways. They are in the downtown cores. Operating on the second level, with convenience stores, fast food joints, sit down restaurants, Taylors, and specialty shops. Office staff can grab lunch, and be back in the office with time to eat.

[@JohnFromAccounting]

There's a really impressive skybridge that's newly built in Melbourne. Australia is going to become a very important place for architecture in the next 20 years.

[@indfnt5590]

@6:54 that sounds like cutting corners to save money. Hopefully there’s never an emergency where they need those extra emergency exit stairs. Fucking developers. 💀💀💀

[@PsychotriaV]

It seems really odd to me that you haven't really critiqued the issues with the idea of skybridges, especially given your criticisms of the Chicago Pedway in your Indoor Cities video, in that video you talk about how interior urbanism was previously seen as a solution to any problems a city might have and imply that architects were wrong to think this. Then in this video you seem to be advocating for skybridges in exactly that fashion, the problems we have with public space allocation are not something you can architect your way out of, they will take real changes in urban planning. As other commenters have pointed out (and you yourself in the Indoor Cities video) these spaces are controlled by private interests, they are inherently not equally accessible and come with rules dictated by a private entity instead of a democratic process.

[@claudiamann7111]

Thanks for another wonderful video. So much great information and things to think about.

[@garfieldandfriends1]

The Interlace in Alexandra/Queenstown area of Singapore is a very interesting one because the “skybridge” is also a building at the same time

[@onstructures]

great investigation, extensive skybridges are certainly a staple of science fiction and futuristic architecture (like Hugh Ferrsis). The singular building scope is just too small to be accessible, I think the reason the sci-fi community likes it so much is how democratic it can feel to be able to access the 30th floor of several buildings... which most people can't right now

[@StephenCoorlas]

Let's keep it on the ground folks. "Skybridges" are a band-aid to resolve the issue of stacking humans vertically in the sky. There's enough land down here for everyone.

[@lzh4950]

Some taller public housing apartment blocks in Singapore have bridges between them too, serving as gardens as well as refuge floors in case of fire or other emergencies (& are legally required for buildings >40 floors I think). They also attract non-residents especially when fireworks are set off e.g. during the New Year, so residents fret about overcrowding & unruly behaviour e.g. littering, so some gardens have since been gated so that they can be closed by the town council after 10pm, while those at The Pinnicle@Duxton charge a $6 admission fee, with visitors only allowed to enter the upper of the blocks' 2 levels of bridges, & only from the southermost of the estate's 7 blocks. Meanwhile residents returning home SkyVille@Dawson reported queuing for up to 1h for the lifts as visitors thronged them to see fireworks from their bridges & sky gardens on New Year Eve 2020 (each block of 320 units has only 4 lifts carrying 13-17 passengers each, & none of them are express)

[@kevinjensen9803]

Sky bridges are often just useless visual urban clutter that destroy the few vistas in dense urban areas, creating a claustrophobic feeling in the public right of way. When used in this way they are anti-urban, based on a fundamentally distopian 1960’s view of the public Street. As several people have commented, they privatize the public realm and divert resources from the truly public realm at street level. I work for a local government, and I can assure you that there is absolutely no way a City could justify to ongoing expense to operate and maintain sky bridges as public space. I worked on the KLCC Petronas Towers design and construction administration teams years ago, so know it well. It is a good example of a practical approach that solves an actual problem - better vertical circulation and life safety by sharing two buildings on the same campus, not bridging a street. I grew up in Denver, where sky bridges were required for a time, beginning in the 1960’s. They proved to be and link together dead spaces that provided no useful purpose and were ugly. Most have been removed over time thankfully.

[@Imbatmn57]

It could also add more green space/pollinator gardens.

[@bugrakaanaknc5218]

Do bees fly up very high tho

[@Imbatmn57]

​​​@@bugrakaanaknc5218they could have bees that high up,there are many skyscrapers with hives on rooftops. Also according to google they can fly as high as 30,000 ft(although they're unlikely to)

[@puffapuffarice]

This is yet another way to privatize the public realm. Others have pointed out Canadian examples underground & as in Calgary15' above the street. All the warmth & vibrancy of shopping mall & like malls drain away streetscapes. In some instances these spaces have more in common with abandon malls. A tired show-off design idea looking for a solution.

[@marques9392]

This is one of the most interesting channels on KZbin I love this one especially

[@lts_Abdullah]

This is so interesting! Makes me wish I studied Architecture back in college. Great video as always!