Fløyheia Mountain lift and pedestrian bridge. Arendal, Norway. 2021

Fløyheia is a small mountain peak just north of the center of Arendal, easily visible from the city’s harbor. In 2021, an elevator and footbridge opened, connecting the square in front of the new county council building at Fløyheia with the city center below. The entrance to the lift is reached through a newly established door in the city’s mountain shelter. The lift goes up 40 meters through rock before continuing up into a 20 meter high glass shaft. At the top, the lift opens onto a footbridge that connects to the square.

The lift has two cars with a capacity of 42 people. The tower’s construction consists of flat steel plates that are optimized in relation to specific load situations. The tower has sufficient flexibility to cope with longitudinal movements when the footbridge expands and contracts. This construction method allows firm clamping of the footbridge’s upper structure, which reduces pedestrian-induced oscillations.

The shaft of prefabricated concrete elements was established by drilling and wire sawing.