The Alpine region was often blessed with enclosed wooden bridges. In 1780， they attracted the interest of the famous English architect John Soane (1753-1837), on the occasion of his Grand Tour. Soane carefully studied and sketched the common wooden bridges built by the Grubenmann brothers in Wettingen and Schaffhausen in Switzerland and in Reichenau, Germany. There were many and, unfortunately, there are only a few of these landscape-defining bridges left. Probably the most notable is the Chapel Bridge in Lucerne. There were also several such examples along the Rhine, before its confluence with Lake Constance. Today, the bridge between Sevelen and Vaduz is still in existence, although it has been modified. Housed wooden bridges mark thresholds. In many cases, they were associated with custom posts. However, they were and still are synonymous with a binding link, either for village and city districts or for regions and countries. They provided shelter for travelers and merchants in bad weather, they marked landscapes, and their horizontal, serene appearance calmed the eye and the fear of the often-raging rivers and streams. Peace treaties were signed on them, contracts were established, and prisoners were handed over. Our design for the new Au-Lustenau bridge proposes a bridge that is just as landscape-defining, protective, and unifying. An important crossing along an international cycle track also means resting, watching, communicating, and giving the place temporary homey qualities. The covered wooden bridge with constant course and cross-section over the Alpine Rhine transfers the type technically and constructively and brings its design into the present. At 280 m long in total, the structure is linked in terms of landscape architecture to the respective outer embankments of the course of the Rhine. Moreover, it is intended to symbolically emphasize the link between the 2 nations - entry into the 2 timber construction countries of Switzerland and Austria. Between the 3 table-like concrete pillars and the 2 abutments, framework elements are inserted, which connect through the roof to form a spatial beam. The constraints of future river regulation result in irregular spacing of the massive pillar structures. These spatially sequential sections are connoted with viewpoints when walking or driving on the bridge. The transverse "piazzas" with balconies on the pillar heads are attractive and emphasize the domesticated claim of the bridge structure. In the chosen arrangement load- bearing wood is consistently protected from the weather. The wide cantilevered roof horizon drains water and protects the structure from driving rain. Both the roof level and the bottom chord are protected laterally by structural wooden battens, which are easily accessible and can be replaced at low cost if necessary. After all, wooden bridges are the least expensive bridges to maintain.
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