De Gasperi and Varesine Footbridges in Milano

The De Gasperi and Varesine footbridges were conceived as innovative and light connective elements within some of the most important renovation pr ojects developed in the last years in Milano and have quickly become landmarks in their own right.

As for all light structures subject to pedestrian loads, dynamic behavior governs the structural design.

Extensive numerical analyses were developed to predict the footbridges behavior and dynamic in situ tests performed to ascertain the actual structure ’s behavior Additional back analyses were carried out to investigate what parameter s had to be calibrated to achieve good convergence between numerical and in situ tests results.

The use of Tuned Mass Dampers was deemed the most appropriate solution to a chieve maximum comfort level for pedestrians and to preserve at the same time the architectural inspiration at the heart of the projects.