All Eyes on Nybrua is a project that emerged out of the frustration of being afraid of walking home underneath Nybrua at night. The project deals with the fact that gender roles are fossilised into the concrete appearance of space.
The overall layout of cities in general reflect society’s expectations of what types of activities take place where, when and by whom.
The project reconnects a neglected underpass with its urban context, transforming it into a public space that invites people to dwell and offers new ways to experience and engage with the river.
Wilson & Kelling: Broken Windows Theory
Physical signs of disorder - broken or boarded up windows, litter, or graffiti - served as overt signals the nobody cared about the surrounding environment and this evident lack of caring encouraged crime.
About the brigde
Nybrua is a stone arch bridge built in 1828 in central Oslo. When Nybrua was built, Vaterlands Bridge (from 1654) was the only other bridge over the Akerselva, so the new bridge was aptly named “Nybrua”: the new bridge.
Fifty years later, in 1878, the bridge was raised by 2 meters and widened by 5 meters to accommodate a tram line between Stortorget and Grünerløkka, effectively making it a tram bridge. In 1941, it was expanded again with large concrete sections on the north side, becoming the main northern entrance to Oslo via Trondheimsveien. Today, it carries tram tracks and four tram routes pass over it.
The current bridge is a two-span concrete frame bridge, 25 meters long, with wrought-iron railings set in granite blocks. It has pedestrian and bicycle underpasses on the east side, while the original 1828 stone arch remains visible on the south side. North of the bridge, the road splits into Trondheimsveien and Thorvald Meyers gate. This intersection was once home to Schous Brewery, now replaced by modern businesses, offices, and restaurants.
The Problem
Nybrua is an architecture with different parts built at different times solving different problems in different ways. In 1941 another part was added: a 8,5m wide concrete construction to further broaden the highly trafficked bridge.
This construction darkens the space underneath and creates a climate of confusion and darkness underneath. This problem was not much of an issue for pedestrians until the underpass was built in the 80s. Suddenly the space that was never designed as a pedestrian space was used as one. Quickly, the underpass became a necessary connection and used as the shortest way to walk along the river.
Where does the fear of walking underneath Nybrua come from?
Sexual violence is the only type violent crime which increased at all in the Oslo police district from 2020 to 2021. Furthermore, we can only roughly estimate the number of sexual violence crimes that have not been reported to the police. This number might exceed the official statistics unthinkably. However, not reported does not mean it did not happen.
Places of the Heart/ Places of Anxiety by Colin Ellard
Whenever we make a decision based on our feelings of anxiety [...] we may choose to drive rather than to walk at night or we may cancel a plan altogether. We may take a longer route to avoid an area that we perceive as risky. We may cross the street or turn around and backtrack to avoid close contact with a group of people loitering on the street. Such choices are economic decisions based on our weighting of the relative benefits of doing what we really want to do and the calculated risk that harm may befall us if we do. Given that we seem to generally overestimate risks, one might argue that we are thwarting our desires unnecessarily. It might simply be the case that the overall costs of choosing behaviors that appear to be safer are very low compared to the costs of discounting our feelings of anxiety too heavily.
In empirical studies of fear in urban settings, the most important triggers of feelings of risk are related to spatial properties. We don’t like walking into situations where potential flight paths are blocked, we don’t like walking through areas that contain lots of shadowy hiding places for potential lurking no- goodniks, we don’t like walking toward an area where it’s difficult to see what’s around the corner, and we don’t like walking through areas that are completely empty of people. In some cases, cues of physical or social disorder can heighten anxiety; of course, our knowledge of an area, developed either through personal experience or through media accounts of violence, will also dissuade us from venturing into territory that may be unsafe. The gender difference in both perception of and vulnerability to risk is difficult to overemphasize and should be a key element of successful urban planning.
Ellard. (2015). Places of the heart : the psychogeography of everyday life. Bellevue Literary Press.
How to design for safety when fear can't simply be designed out?
A floating underpass
The floating bridge is designed to create a new kind of experience along the Akerselva River. It forms part of the transformation of Nybrua from a neglected underside into a cared-for and inviting public space. With this intervention I aim to strengthen Nybrua’s evolving role as a place for meeting, movement and interaction.
Although the existing underpass may appear spacious at nearly three meters wide, beneath the stone arch from 1828 only 73 centimeters of the path can be comfortably used due to the low ceiling height. This narrow section is also the darkest point under the bridge. The new floating bridge, with a width of 2.9 meters, finally provides generous space for its users and invites them to linger.
Why floating? By introducing a floating structure, the dark unused corners beside the old path are eliminated. Areas once associated with littering, urination or discarded syringes are no longer accessible. This also enhances the sense of safety — there are no hidden corners where someone could startle or harass a passerby. Moreover, the old pass used to be flooded during times of high rainfall, the new pass simply adjusts to the water level change.
Yet the underpass has always held one valuable quality: its intimate relationship with the river. At times, the water nearly reaches the path’s surface; occasionally, it even floods. This closeness creates a tangible connection to the river and invites observation and reflection. The floating bridge preserves and amplifies this quality, maintaining proximity to the water while providing a safer and more welcoming way to experience it.
Another issue with the old underpass was the feeling of being unseen, a lack of visibility that created unease. One could not help but wonder: if something happened here, would anyone notice? Would anyone help? The likely answer was no.
From the busier street above there was no visual connection and along the path itself only limited sightlines. A blind corner amplified this sense of isolation and fear. As Jane Jacobs famously described, it is the eyes on the street that create an impression of safety — the simple awareness that a place is alive, observed and cared for. With this project I aimed to introduce that same sense of liveliness around the bridge and especially within the underpass.Enhancing visibility happens in two phases.
Phase 1: Connecting the bridge to the underpass
Establishing a connection between those on the bridge and those below. The intention was for people beneath the bridge to feel seen. The solution was a simple architectural gesture – an opening in the bridge deck functioning as a visual window between the two levels.The opening is placed a few metres into the parking lane, ensuring that the existing sidewalk, roadway and tram tracks remain unaffected. The parking area previously used by taxis could be relocated to a designated space approximately 30 meters from the bridge.
Beyond improving visibility the opening allows daylight to filter into the underpass, creating a visual and spatial link to the river below while offering pedestrians above a renewed view of the water.
Phase 2: Connecting the neighbourhood
The second phase of introducing what Jane Jacobs calls “eyes on the street” focuses on creating a reason for people to stay, transforming the underpass area from a place one hurries through into a place where people want to linger. The intention is to shift the character of the space from hidden and unsafe to open, social and inviting.
In 2022, there was no real opportunity to sit and enjoy the sun or the view of the river in the immediate surroundings of Nybrua. The few existing options were cafés, such as Kaffeebrenneriet, which has a limited outdoor seating area that catches the afternoon sun even in winter. However, these spaces are privately owned and accessible only to those who can afford to sit down for a drink. Public seating, on the other hand, offers something different – a sense of shared belonging and inclusivity where everyone can pause and take part in the life of the city.
By shaping a seating landscape along the slope leading down to the underpass, the design introduces a new type of urban space that connects the bridge, the path below and the riverbank in a natural flow. The stepped seating invites a variety of activities: people resting, meeting friends, watching the river or simply passing time in the sun. Over time, this will help establish the area as a neighborhood gathering spot rather than a neglected in-between zone.
This presence of people transforms the atmosphere entirely. The more visitors sit, talk and interact in this space, the more visible and safe it becomes. The design therefore not only provides a new place to dwell but also reinforces the social and spatial connection between the river and the urban fabric around Nybrua, bringing everyday life back to a once overlooked corner of the city.
We can't simply design fear away from somebody's life. Hilde Koskela however proposes following: What can be gained by analysing women’s courage and their ability to take possession of space?
For me a feminist city is way more than simply a city free of sexual violence. The feminist city for me is a city where there is equal access to the resources that the city has to offer, regardless of any gender identity, any projective characteristics such as race, class, sexual orientation or physical ability.
– Dr. Ellie Cosgrave
