Tabiat Bridge

The Tabiat Bridge opened in 2014, designed by Leila Araghian who won the competition as a young architect, and it links two parks across the Modarres expressway in northern Tehran. Its point is that it is not a shortcut: the deck is 270 metres long, curves rather than running straight, and has three levels connected by ramps and stairs, with seating, planting, restaurants and wide platforms, so people go onto it to sit, eat and look rather than to get somewhere. It is carried on three tree-shaped steel columns. It has become one of the most used public spaces in the city, particularly in the evening, and it won international design awards. The Alborz mountains close the view to the north.

History

The bridge was designed by Leila Araghian of Diba Tensile Architecture, with Alireza Behzadi, as the winning entry in a local competition to link two parks divided by a highway. The design took four years in all, Araghian wanted it to be a place where people stay rather than simply cross, and it won the 2016 Aga Khan Award for Architecture (Wikipedia, Tabiat Bridge).

What you'll find

• Three connected levels - ramps and stairs linking decks at different heights.
• Tree-shaped steel columns - the branching supports carrying the deck.
• A bridge built to linger on - seating, planting and restaurants along it.
• The Alborz view north - the mountains above the city from the upper deck.

When to go

April to June and September to November for comfortable evenings, which is when Tehranis use it. One to two hours. It is busiest after dark and on Thursday and Friday evenings. Free at all hours.

Before you go

It is extremely crowded on warm evenings. The expressway below is loud. Restaurants on the bridge are expensive. Air pollution can obscure the mountain view entirely. Parking nearby is difficult.

Nearby

Taleghani and Ab-o-Atash parks are at each end; northern Tehran surrounds it.

Key facts