The Living Bridge, Steel footbridge in Medienhafen, Düsseldorf, Germany.

The Living Bridge spans the Medienhafen basin between Am Handelshafen and Julo-Levin-Ufer. Its steel girder deck is about 150 metres long, 11.6 metres wide at the centre and up to 1.5 metres deep, carried by two concrete piers with a 60-metre main span. The deck is timber-planked like a ship's deck and steps down at the flanks to form seating; a 14 × 14 metre, three-storey concrete, steel and glass cube housing a restaurant stands on piles in the water on the southwest side, with a terrace just above the waterline reached by an external steel stair.

The bridge and its restaurant building were built between 2004 and 2005 on behalf of the city for 5.9 million euros. The design came from a city competition held around 2000 to open up the spit at the harbor tip on foot. It was inspired by inhabited bridges such as the Rialto and Ponte Vecchio, shown in a 2000 exhibition of historic architectural models at the NRW-Forum Düsseldorf.

The name refers to how people actually use it: restaurants and event spaces turn it into a social gathering place where visitors linger rather than simply cross. This blend of passage and destination has shaped daily life in the harbor district.

The bridge is open to pedestrians and cyclists and is planked in wood, giving it the feel of a ship's deck. Steps drop down along its flanks to form seating, and glass railings line the walkway. The restaurant cube sits on the southwest side, reached from the bridge by a steel outdoor staircase to its terrace just above the water.

Built-in LED strips in the steps and white plastic cubes transform into an illuminated artwork at night. This nighttime glow creates an entirely different experience from daytime crossing.