Here’s another loopy bridge for China (see our earlier story about NL Architects’ concept), this time a foot bridge for Xinjin in the Sichuan province by New York studio WXY Architecture and Weidlinger Associates Consulting Engineers.
Called Nanhe River Landscape Bridge, the red bridge will cross the river in two interlaced strands.
Construction is due to begin later this year.
Here’s some more information from WXY Architecture:
Nanhe River Landscape Bridge by WXY Architecture
WXY Architecture and Weidlinger Associates have won a competition to build the Nanhe River Landscape Bridge in Xinjin County, China.
Xinjin is a historical town that has attracted many residents and visitors over the years. It is geographically centered where five rivers converge, and for centuries poets have exalted its natural beauty. Our design draws inspiration from Xinjin’s breathtaking landscape and rich cultural history, and reflects the city’s modern prosperity.
Featuring two individual and intertwining bridges that form a braided pattern, the Nanhe River Landscape Bridge evokes the flow of the river it crosses – and like the main path in a great park, the journey across the bridge is an experience unto itself.
The two intertwined ribbons serve a practical purpose by greatly expanding the capacity of the bridge to allow it to keep pace with Xinjin’s future growth. Embedded in its distinctive design is one path for pedestrians and another for bicycles. The two paths offer pedestrians and cyclists different perspectives and varying vistas along their journey across the structure.
The five oval rings formed by the lines of bridge decks are symbolic of the five rivers that converge on Xinjin; in turn, the bridge is supported by five multi-limbed supports, which increase the current spacing for watercraft and other recreational uses of the river. The complex form of the bridge is derived from the linear extrusion of a simple steel box girder. Its bright red color will resonate against the grey blue colors of Xinjin’s hillside landscape.
For residents and visitors, esplanades on both sides of the river provide important places to view and access the Nanhe. The Nanhe River Landscape Bridge springs seamlessly from these esplanades, and extends the park-like experience across the river in the centuries-long tradition of Chinese landscape bridges. Thus a contemporary symbol of Xinjin is born that draws inspiration from the city’s most timeless qualities.
