NIO Architecten
Prayer of Shadow Protection
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/prayer-of-shadow-protection_0-375x221.jpg)
The project
The archetypical drawbridge can be recognized in the design by NIO Architecten. The designers themselves claim to have drawn their inspiration from quite a wide range of sources: the limbs of the praying mantis, the Jedi starfighter from the film Star Wars and the designs of the various pleasure boats that pass through the canal in summer. Thanks to the dark colour, ‘somewhere between green and blue’, the bridge, both open and closed, is likely to be perceived as a silhouette. A silhouette which, at first sight, is just as mysterious as the world of fantasy computer games referred to in the title.
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/prayer-of-shadow-protection_1-375x221.jpg)
Committee
The sculptural design is the result of shaping the traditional drawbridge. Both closed and open, the photogenic bridge offers a beautiful silhouette. Once again an example of the tendency to turn bridges into recognisable identity carriers.
![](https://www.dutchdesignawards.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/prayer-of-shadow-protection_2-375x221.jpg)