UNIQUE BRIDGE DESIGNS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

The Mobius Bridge, Under Construction, Changsha, China

THE NEW MEANING OF CONNECTION: 

UNIQUE BRIDGE DESIGNS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Susan Kime

The ideas people have about bridges, as well as what they mean, are changing in the 21^st century. Historically, they have been tangible connectors from land to land.  And they are all around us — over water, marshes, oceans, and rivers, and even land itself. Their designs are multiple, from spans to truss to beam to beam and girder to arch to cantilever to suspension, and beyond. But in our century, the beyond part is moving at hyper speed.

Now, and in the near future, the bridge building trend has expanded the concept of bridge as land connector to bridge as personal experience, connecting past with present, new with old, urban with rural, all within the challenging contexts of new design ideology.

Right now, a new bridge is being built by Next Architects, based in Amsterdam, whose design is being called, for now, the Mobius Bridge. It is a pedestrian bridge under construction in the Meixi Lake District near Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province in China. Construction began this year, and given the nature of its design, over the Dragon King Harbor River, it may take another year to complete. 

The nature of its design of intersecting connections is based on the principles of the Mobius Strip. It is named after the 19^th century mathematician and astronomer August Ferdinand Mobius. The design is a curiosity, as the Mobius strip is famous because it has only one side and one edge. As M.C. Escher showed in his famous illustration, Mobius Strip II red ants, the ants could theoretically walk on the Mobius strip — a single surface – indefinitely.

Perhaps the possibility of traveling indefinitely along a Mobius strip allowed an association with infinity, as the Lemniscate symbol (see image below) for infinity resembles a Mobius strip.  But the design of the Mobius Bridge pays homage not only to the Mobius design, but its loop design also references traditional Chinese knots, used in decorative Chinese folk art and clothing. Unusual cohorts – the Mobius strip and Chinese knots!

The Mobius bridge’s span will be 490 feet with a height of 79 feet and a variety of routes at different bridge levels, with a series of interwoven, spaghetti-like pathways all constructed at a range of different heights. The area around the bridge will have recreational and other tourist attractions, a 40 hectare (98 acre) lake, a business sector with tram transportation and eight new neighborhoods.

Next Architects has had more experience than others in designing unusual bridges and other connective structures.

Though this Mobius Bridge is highly unique, they have also created others worth a second look, including one associated with the Mobius concept. It is a circular staircase, called The Impossible Stair, that leads the visitor to an unhindered horizon view. The path makes a continuous movement, and is based on the principle of the Mobius strip, having only one surface, still existing as a three-dimensional object. Upside becomes underside becomes upside. It provides the viewer what the architects call anelastic perspective. It is in the neighborhood of Carnisselande, in the Dutch town of Barendrecht, near Rotterdam.

Another unusual bridge form, also by the Next Architects, is called the Melkwegbridge, which is not a Mobius design, but is a connector of past and present. The Melkwegbridge, is part of the new master plan that connects the Weidevenne (newer) district to the historic city center of Purmerend, a town in the Netherlands dating back to the 15^th century.  The most striking part of the bridge is its massive arch that reaches 39 feet above water level, offering an unimpeded view of the city. The high viewpoint allows pedestrians to fully experience the cultural and historic trajectory between the new and the old centers of Purmerend.

The Melkwegbridge, near Purmerend, The Netherlands

Finally, it is important to note that not only Dutch architects design unusual bridges.  There are many others that function as both visionary and practical connection. Here are just two from English designers. one is from Thomas Heatherwick of Heatherwick Studios, London, and the other from Knight Architects in Buckinghamshire, in Southeast England.

First is The Garden Bridge in London, commissioned by TfL to explore the opportunity of a pedestrian river crossing over the Thames.  Heatherwick  proposed London’s north and south sides be connected by a verdant garden that happens to be a bridge also. There will be grasses, trees, wild flowers, and plants, unique to London’s natural Thames river habitat. It is designed to bring urban residents a few moments of peace within a natural setting with an urban city context.

Second is the Fan Bridge, or the Merchant Square footbridge in Paddington, a section of London.  It is a proposed three-metre- wide cantilevered moving structure that spans 65 feet across a canal and is raised using hydraulic jacks with an action similar to that of a traditional Japanese hand fan. The deck of the footbridge is designed with five fabricated steel beams that open in sequence, with the first rising to an angle of 80 degrees; the four subsequent beams will rise at lower increments. The handrail will house a low-energy LED downlight that illuminates the bridge. It will be in place by the end of 2014.

From China to London, with many other cities in between, the emerging trend appears to make crossing a bridge from one destination to another a memorable experience in itself:  one that tourists won’t forget as they remember their travels, and recount both destination and bridge connection to family and friends.

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http://www.urbanarches.com/the-new-meaning-of-connection-unique-bridge-designs-in-the-21st-century/