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Table of Contents: Towers & Bridges 150’
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Table of Contents: Towers & Bridges
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
NABU Heiligenhafen Germany, Graswarder-Heiligenhafen GMP Architekten 2005 50 ft Observation tower Beams and ledgers with diagonal bracing
Situated on one of the largest bird reserves in Europe, the Bird Observation Tower seeks to create a place of discovery and expansive views of the flocking birds and the distant landscape. Located on an extensive natural bird reserve, the directors wished to erect a tower that would provide visitors as well as ornithologists a suitable environment for observing the birds without disturbing them. Thanks to its elevated location, the tower would also provide exceptional views of the surrounding landscape as well as any details with the aid of telescopes. The wooden construction made of Siberian larch blends in with the surrounding nature, sitting as a sculptural depiction of a bird. Ascending the two flights of steps, the observer comes to a glass enclosed observation deck. Unrecognizable at a first glance, the top of the tower has two vantage points. The second, not so obvious one, featuring a cut away from the roof structure, allowing views to the distant landscape as well as the sky above as the birds flock to the reserve.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Gemeinde Gosdorf Orts - und Infrastrukturentwicklungs KG Styria, Austria terrain:loenhart&mayr 2010 89 ft Observation tower Metal structure
The double helix structure of the River Mur Observation Tower allows the experience of the visitor to be a continuous loop. This uninterrupted path takes the visitor through the different heights of the tree canopies in the surrounding forest, eventually bringing them to the top of the treetops. The double helix structure allows ascending visitors to pass up those on the way down, as they continue through the continuous path. This observation tower rises over the river Mur and overlooks the border between Austria and Slovenia. It was originally inspired by a double spiral staircase of Graz Castle, built in the 1500s. A site of pilgrimage for architects throughout history, the unique atmosphere it creates was a driving force for the spiral-shaped paths of the Mur Tower. The supporting structure of the tower is conceptualized as a tree. The lower parts correspond to the trunk. The thinner tubes and tension cables can be seen as the delicate branches up above. Depending on the weather and time of day, the faรงade of the tower seems to transform, as the light glistens off the multifaceted aluminum panels.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Local Government Reusel, The Netherlands Ateliereen Architecten 2009 82 ft Observation tower + Sport Facility Steel Columns
As part of a large outdoor recreational destination in the Netherlands, the Viewing Tower Reusel aims to promote physical activity through the way visitors interact with the structure; ascending the stairs, or climbing the climbable wall on one of its facades. The 25-meter tall tower is comprised of 6 stacked volumes of steel and halved logs from the surrounding forest. A tower with sport facilities like climbing and abseiling is the main attraction. It consists of six cubes, hanging on a core of steel columns. Straight flight staircases raise in between and cross the cubes several times in different positions. Two of the six cubes are accessible. The third one is the starting platform for a rope-slide and a high-rope track. In the top cube people can enjoy a panoramic view of the surroundings and there is a starting platform for abseiling. The athletes on the 13 meters high climbing wall are observed by visitors of the adjacent bistro. The climbing of the stairs is a surprising experience, because of the different intersections of stairs and cubes and the varying directions of the log cladding. The use of wood makes the object fit in the setting. The orthogonal shapes on the other hand, create an exciting composition.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Jurmala City Council Jurmala, Latvia ARHIS Architects 2010 125 ft Observation tower Steel columns
The Observation Tower is a light, simple parallel-piped metallic structure covered by glued wooden elements and a comfortable, wide staircase that whirls around a squared structural core, taking visitors to an asymmetric viewing platform at the very top. Along the way, 12 balconies cantilever out and allow visitors to rest and enjoy the views and solitary air of the forest. The structural concept defined the tower’s visual appearance--a laconic, quadrilateral and elongated tower with stretched elements and randomly distributed balconies which end with a dynamic observation “cage”. The 38-meter tall structure is enclosed with an open-air cage allowing screened views of the encompassing nature reserve. Lifted on steel pilotis, visitors enter the construct through a discreet stair and continue climbing towards the pinnacle deck positioned at a height of 33.5 meters, exposed and visible from the ground. The metal framework is clad with narrow wooden strips secured with vertical bands of lumber. The transparency of the elongated quadrilateral form maintains a delicate presence, minimally imposing on its natural surroundings. The floors are comprised of an industrial steel grate to maintain an outdoor experience during ascent.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Part of an International Building Exhibition Senftenberg, Germany Architektur & Landschaft Stefan Giers, Susanne Gabriel 2010 99 ft Observation tower Steel + Aluminum
As part of a large redevelopment project, the Lusatian Tower aimed to impose a stark contrast between nature and the industry reminiscent of the mined land where the monument now stands. Once a site for lignite mining, the area is being repurposed as the largest artificial lake landscape in Europe. The triangular base of the tower rises as a structure with two solid corten steel walls, while the third is open. In this niche created by the two solid walls, 9 offset flights of stairs offer panoramic views of the lake landscape. Made completely of corten steel, the visitor experiences and acoustical interaction with the tower, as each foot step on the metal stairs sends a booming clap through the space to reflect off of the metal surfaces. The offset stairs are met with several wide landings for observation, eventually leading to the large observation platform on the roof.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Galyateto, Hungary NartArchitects 2016 Originally 55 ft, now 98 ft Observation Tower + Shelter for hikers Concrete
In a successful repurposing of an old stone found object, the Lookout Tower at Galyateto is a concrete addition that rises above the tree line to give visitors a panoramic view of the nearby mountain range. Located in the center of the 683-mile long “Blue” national tourist route, the lookout tower offers 3 temporary rooms for hikers passing by. The Galyateto lookout tower is situated the highest among the lookout towers in Hungary. Through the years the trees have grown above the old stone building’s top level, it craved for heightening. The top level was elevated in the form of a reinforced concrete addition. In the inner core of the extension's concrete structure are 3 bivouac shelters lighted with colorful circular windows, creating a special atmosphere for the hikers who hanker to get some rest through their journey. After the significant structural reconstruction, the retained outer wall also plays a new role. The double mass of the inner core and the encircling steel stair-system is closed with a fine, rare woven stainless steel mesh on the external plane of the stairs.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Bella Vista Sakaigahama Hiroshima, Japan Hiroshi Nakamura & NAP Co. 2013 50ft Chapel Metal structure
This wedding chapel stands in a garden of a resort hotel in Onomichi, Hiroshima. By entwining two spiral stairways, the architect realized a free-standing building of unprecedented composition and architecturally embodied the act of marriage in a pure form. The site is midway on a hill enjoying a panoramic view of the Inland Sea of Japan. A single spiral stairway would be unsteady in a horizontal direction and is prone to vibration in a vertical direction, hence, very unstable. By joining two spiral stairways so that one supports the other, we produced a free-standing structure. At the core of their movement is a chapel where the people who have supported the bride and groom are waiting. The chapel aisle looks toward an existing symbol tree. The altar stands before the tree, and 80 seats are positioned for views to the ocean through the trees. Ordinarily, a building is composed of distinct elements: roof, wall, and floor. Here, however, the entwining stairways perform as roofs, eaves, walls, and floors to produce the building’s spaces. The stairways widen in breadth in response to location and function, such as at the summit where the couple meets, in directions having fine views, and in places where the eaves must be deep to shield the interior from the sun. The building’s exterior is finished in upright wood panels, painted white so as to deepen in beauty as time passes, and titanium zinc alloy, a material resistant to damage from the sea breeze and pliable enough to be applied to curvature. Employing the zinc alloy on the coping, walls, ceiling, and window sashes enabled a simple design unified by means of a single material.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Municipality of Lommel Lommel, Belgium Ateliereen Architecten 2015 99 ft Observation tower Steel Structure
The Lommel Tower is situated in a popular nature reserve characterized by sand dunes and surrounded by pine trees. The physical characteristics of the landscape inspired the faรงade of the tower. Over 2 miles of rope wraps the triangular structure with playful lines mimicking the wavy lines of the sand dunes. The large steel structure consists of triangles, which is a structurally efficient form. This principle also ensures that the shape of the tower changes from different perspectives. From some places the structure appears to be skewed. The tower has three platforms. The lowest platform extends towards the water and is accessible by a ramp. From this level you can take the stairs to a height of almost thirty meters. Halfway there is a platform and on top and you can enjoy views all around. The railings of the stairs and the platforms are cladded with wood.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Trier, Germany Hermann&Valentiny and Partners 2004 63 ft Observation Tower Steel
A structure more sculptural than architectural, the Tower of Dreams and Longings takes the visitor through a short procession to a framed view of the natural landscape. This structure was erected on the occasion of a national garden show as a gift from the City of Luxembourg to the City of Trier. It is not just a symbol without a specific function; one can climb it and it offers views far into the distance. Franรงois Valentiny chose Corten steel as the building material, as this is a material that suggests an affinity with the earth, with natural processes. It is itself exposed to such processes, although resistant to the final stages of decay.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Betuwe -Holland Evenementen Groep The Netherlands,Beldert Beach Ateliereen Architects 2013 62 ft Observation tower Precast concrete
The Adventure Tower was designed as an activity tower at Beldert Beach, a recreational lake. With viewing platforms as well as a massive climbing wall, the Adventure Tower offers a one of a kind experience to the visitor. The tower can be used for climbing and other group activities and there is a small kiosk included in the building. There is a viewing platform at a height of nineteen meters, which offers a view over the water, the wide area and the Holland Evenementen Groep. Functionality and visibility were the basic principles for this design. The architect choose a clear shape, which is formed by the stairs, going inside and outside of the structure. The stairs have a prominent, bright yellow color. This way the route up is marked and the building has a cheerful and sunny appearance. The tower is constructed in prefab concrete rings, a robust material with a high-quality finish. The function of the tower is recognizable because the colored climbing routes contrast with the silver-like background. The project is an addition to the activities of the Holland Evenementen Groep and a new impulse for the beach. The eleven prefabricated concrete rings all have unique dimensions. In the rings at the top, the logo of Beldert Beach is poured into the surface, so no flags are needed.
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Brown Brothers Apslawn, Australia Cumulus Studio 2015 89ft Observation tower Steel
This lookout was created as an addition to an existing winery and café. Through the experience of the tower, the visitor is able to get a deeper understanding of the winery and the vineyards from which the wine originates. Located on the scenic drive along Tasmania’s East Coat, the new Devil's Corner Cellar Door and Lookout sits within one of Tasmania’s largest vineyards, with a panoramic view over the Freycinet Peninsula. Reopened in December 2015, this project for Brown Brothers seeks to amplify the experience of this iconic view to create a new tourism experience on the East Coast of Tasmania. Originally a small demountable building, the Cellar Door has been extended and expanded, paired with a lookout and complimentary food experiences, providing a backdrop for seasonal events. The Cellar Door and Lookout were designed as a loose collection of timber clad buildings that, through similar aesthetic and material treatment, form a modern interpretation of traditional farm / rural settlement that gather over time. The lookout element is a critical component of the design, not only in providing a visual signifier for the settlement but also as a way of interpreting the landscape from which the Devil’s Corner wines originate. In the same way that an appreciation of wine can be gained through understanding its subtleties and varying ‘in-mouth’ sensations, there are many ways landscape can be appreciated. The lookout plays with this idea. The three distinct spaces reference different and unique views of the site – firstly the SKY, then the HORIZON and lastly the TOWER which winds its way upward providing views to each of the compass points before culminating in an elevated and expansive view of the bay.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Verschรถnerungsverein der Stadt Stuttgart Stuttgart, Germany Hans Luz und Partner, Landschaftsarchitekten 2000 130 ft Observation tower Steel cables and plates
A tower with a view, whose gentle swinging motion allows visitors to experience the height and winds, while marking the point of transition between the well-tended urban gardens to the lush woods that surround the city. The net, through the platforms, stabilizes the mast and reduces its tendency to buckle under vertical compression. A compression ring at 34 m changes the direction of the cables to the top. At the outer edge of the platforms, the radial main girders are supported with clamps by the prestressed net and the inner edge is directly connected to the mast. The floors are covered with steel plates also adding to the stiffness of the platforms. The outer runner beams of the stairs are clamped to the cable-net while their inner sides support the stair treads. The tension forces of the cables are anchored in a heavy-weight foundation ring; the compression force of the mast is transferred and distributed by a central foundation slab.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Boy Scouts of America/Trinity Works West Virginia, USA Mithun 2013 125 ft Observatory/Educational Corten steel frame
The Sustainability Treehouse was conceived and created as a unique icon of outdoor adventure. The facility provides dynamic educational and gathering spaces for exploring and understanding the site and the ecosystem at various levels: ground, tree canopy, and sky. The towering corten steel frame elevates visitors to extraordinary vantages and provides an armature for green building systems, such as photovoltaic panels, wind turbines, and a large cistern and water cleansing system. Interactive exhibits showcase and celebrate sustainable technologies. Overall, the Treehouse captures the wonder of childhood exploration and places environmental education at the forefront of meaningful experiences and camp messages for thousands of annual visitors to take home.
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Erlebnis Akademie AG Neuschönau, Germany Josef Stöger 2010 145 ft Observation tower Glue lam beams, Steel
The Neuschonau Tree Top Walk is an elevated spiraling foot path amongst the tree tops in the Bavarian Forest National Park. The walkway ends at an oval shaped dome 145 feet high. The 360-degree spiral staircase around the dome offers breathtaking views of the surrounding nature. In clear weather you can even see the north ridge of the Alps. The tree-top walk is a part of the largest protected forest area in central Europe – Bavarian Forest National Park, which is also the first national park in Germany. The tree-top walk, Baumwipfelpfad in German, begins with a short elevator ride or stair climb to the ticket booth, a mere 8 meter above the parking lot. As hikers begin the leisurely walk down a 4260-foot long wood path, the ground begins to gently fall away -or so it appears -- as the path inclines almost imperceptibly, making it easily accessible for parents with strollers. It is obvious the creators of the Baumwipfelpfad wanted to make visitors feel a part of the natural environment. The path advances freely through the forest, leaving the mature pines forever undisturbed. Several adventure stations are placed along the walkway including a narrow wooden plank enticing hardy trekkers to balance on the beam. These obstacles are fully-enclosed with a safety net and offers a rewarding view of the earth 50 feet below. The observation dome is shaped like a giant egg. Once at the top, a spectacular view awaits the visitors.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Ghlin, Belgium V+ 2013 164 ft Water tower Concrete
Water Tower is a project in which the traditional form of a water tower is explored. As an entirely new construction, the owner felt the need to create the tower in such a way that it could later be repurposed. Water towers are infrastructures that transcend their technical purpose and help to shape the greater landscape. Water towers, built for the most part in the 20th century, are usually cut parts developed from a simple extrusion or the revolution of a profile around a central axis. Although this conception generates a simple, rational image of dominion by evoking a repeatedly enlarged recipient, it stems from a logic whereby the liquid contained takes precedence over the landscape. The client wanted seize this rare moment, the construction of a new water tower, to create a project that would the question the figure that water towers cut, be a strong signal and also serve as a landmark for the sizeable Ghlin-Baudour industrial estate. The project serves as a direct response to the function of a water tower, a circular vat of 65 feet of diameter stands on a platform at a height of 164 feet. The supporting structure of the platform is formed by an X and a V shape cast out of concrete on site. The 70,600 ft3 vat does not represent a continuation of the structure but rather an independent structure resting on a support. Hence the platform offers great flexibility in the event of any future reconversion of the water tower.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Yang Yang, South Korea Didier Faustino 2008 66 ft Observation tower Steel
Sky is the limit is a domestic space sample, propulsed 66 feet above the ground, a tea room projected in a state of weightlessness, over the troubled horizon. The building’s body is nothing more than a fragile skeleton. Its thin arachnoid structure sets under tension a vertical void. A bicephalous head over this fleshless body is composed of two entities. Two captive voids (shipping containers) of strictly similar dimensions provide a sea-facing observation deck atop this tower in South Korea. Vistors must climb five flights of steps to reach the top of the 20 metre-high scaffolding.
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Siam Cement Group Thailand Supermachine Studio 2014 900 sf Observation tower + play facility Concrete
10 CAL Tower, so named because one burns 10 calories walking from bottom to top, began as a reinterpretation of the community playground. the tower aimed to redefine the child/parent dynamics of a playground visit through a vertical maze that would appeal to adults and children alike. The site chosen is a seaside public park built many years ago in Bangsaen, a coastal town 100 km. east of Bangkok. Three structures are to be built in the same area; a library by DBALP, a multi-purpose pavilion by DEPT, and a playground by Supermachine Studio. The project was started by questioning performances of generic playgrounds today which are facilities for the youngsters to spend time on actively and the adult left aside being passive. Parents and their children are in the same space but their relationships are somewhat awkward. The proposal for a community playground is a stacking concrete labyrinth that offers many possibilities for children and adults to climb around. The structure offers some tens combinations of routes for families to redefine their relationships. Playing hide and seek in the labyrinth is, for us, an activity that allow parents to spend more time with their kids.
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North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany Birk Heilmeyer und Frenzel 2010 77 ft Observation tower Metal structure
Visible from far away, the look-out tower JĂźberg is prominently positioned at the end of a processional path, marking the end point of the city and the transition to landscape. The upwards expanding shape of the tower reacts immediately to the local circumstances; the forested landscape, the urban skyline, and finally a panoramic view of the entire surroundings. The simplified static model of the tower resembles a clamped tube. Due to the horizontal wind forces, the maximal applied load develops at the clamping position. Steel needles anchor the construction up to 20 feet deep in the bedrock. Above the foundation, the rigidity of the tower is reduced gradually from the bottom to the top by decreasing the number of timber rods. According to the diminishing loads, the mesh structure expands towards the top. The supports in the lowest plane consist of six individual rods, which are reduced to five in the next level, then four, three, and finally two rods. This allows for an increasing panoramic view the higher you get to the observation deck. Each of the five landing platforms creates an individual atmosphere due to the diminishing rod system.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Guangzhou, China Information Based Architecture 2010 1969 ft Observation tower, Restaurant, Hotel, Open lattice-structure, built up from 1100 nodes and the same amount of connecting ring- and bracing pieces
The Canton Tower was envisioned as an icon for the rising prosperity and popularity of the city of Guangzhou, China. The tower hosted a variety of programs like restaurants, banquet halls, observation decks, and surprisingly, amusement rides at the top. Mark Hemel, IBA architect and director, comments, “Where most skyscrapers bear ‘male’ features; being introvert, strong, straight, rectangular, and based on repetition, we wanted to create a ‘female’ tower, being complex, transparent, curvy, gracious and sexy. Our aim was to design a free-form tower with a rich and human-like identity that would represent Guangzhou as a dynamic and exciting city.” The result is a tower, very slender and tall, that bears similarities with the figure of a female, the very reason that earned the nickname: ‘super-model ‘.” The idea of the tower is simple. The form, volume and structure is generated by two ellipses, one at foundation level and the other at a horizontal plane at 1475 feet. These two ellipses are rotated relative to another. The tightening caused by the rotation between the two ellipses forms a ‘waist’ and a densification of material.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Height Building Type Structure
Novawest Phoenix, Arizona BIG Architects 2012 430 ft Observation tower Reinforced concrete with an open-air spiral sphere at its top
The Phoenix Observation Tower was conceived as an icon in downtown Phoenix that would give visitors a once in a lifetime experience. The towering structure was conceived as a tall core of reinforced concrete with an open-air spiral sphere at its top, resembling a metaphorical pin firmly marking a location on a map. The spiraling sphere contains flexible exhibition, retail and recreational spaces which are accessed via three glass elevators that connect the base with the summit and offer panoramic views of the city and the tower’s programs as visitors ascend or descend. Walking downwards from the top through a continuous spiral promenade, the visitors of the observation tower experience all of the building’s programs in a constant motion, while enjoying dynamic 360 degree views of the city of Phoenix and the Arizonian landscape. The base of the tower will serve as a public plaza offering shade, water features and a small amount of retail together with a subterranean queuing area. The tower will serve as a working model of sustainable energy practices, incorporating a blend of solar and other technologies.
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Project was initiated by ZUS and is the world's first piece of public infrastructure to be accomplished mostly through crowdfunding Rotterdam, The Netherlands ZUS Zones Urbaines Sensibles 2015 1312 ft long Bridge + Public Infrastructure Steel Beams
Named Luchtsingel, which means "air canal", the pedestrian bridge runs through a building and across roads and railways to connect three previously disconnected areas of the city. The bright yellow wooden structure is raised above ground by an entire storey, creating an uninterrupted pedestrian pathway that connects the recently renovated Rotterdam Central station with the historic Laurenskwartier district. It also links up a series of individual public realm projects, including a rooftop vegetable garden and a new park. Initial fundraising came from a crowdfunding campaign. For every â‚Ź25 (ÂŁ17) donated, supporters could have their name inscribed onto one of the wooden boards that line the edges of the bridge. Over 8,000 people signed up to support the campaign financially. The architects were later granted funding to complete the project by the city council By bridging across both the road and tram lines of the Schiekade, as well as the nearby railway, it reconnects three areas that had previously been impossible for people to move between on foot.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Size Building Type Structure
Tehran, Iran 3rd Skin Architects 2015 3000 sqm Pedestrian Bridge Metal Structure
The Haghani Pedestrian Bridge was designed to provide pedestrian access from an elevated residential area to the cultural and recreational core of the capital. Sidewalks and designed open space have an important role in development and renovation of urban complexes. The pedestrian bridge is the extension of these mentioned public spaces with the priority of pedestrians. Part of the bridge’s design is based off of the difference in elevation between the two sides, and the concurrent height needed for vehicles to pass underneath. With a 22-meter elevation difference, a straight ramp would have to span 820 feet at an 8% slope. To avoid this design, the bridge is broken up into three ramps that come together into a “folded line” composition. The two upper ramps of the bridge are supported with a metal structure, while the lower, third ramp serves as an extension of the pavement bordering the south side of the highway. The bridge is also accessible via stairs on the north side.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Size Building Type Structure
Competition: "Prague: Bridge-Building over the Vltava River" Prague, Czech Republic Juráš Lasovský Concept. Not built. Pedestrian Bridge + Residential Space -
The intention of architect was to disrupt the serenity of the Prague basin landscape by proposing a residential bridge connecting the quarters of Podolí, Císařská louka and Smíchov. While classical bridges tend to create a connection between two places, this residential bridge is regarded as an opportunity to create an attractive space above the river. It becomes a space with residential premises as well as a sort of esplanade from which people get the chance to observe the city life around them. The architect perceives the Prague basin landscape as an incredibly colorful space made of both natural and urban contours and impulses encountering each other at the Vltava river which gives them a direction as a result of its natural powers and thus creates a sort of pause, serenity. This link introduces certain excitement into the landscape and creates tension over the river yet becomes directed by the Vyšehrad massif from one side, by the Smíchov riverbank on the other.
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Singapore RSP architects planners and engineers 2009 118 ft above ground Bridge Steel
True to its name, the bridge mimics the undulating shape of a wave, curving and twisting along its entire 900-foot length. Its form is anchored by steel arches and filled in with curved slats of Balau wood, a dense hardwood used in heavy construction and which is found only in Southeast Asia. Based on the principle of parametric design, this new visual symbol has attracted the community to its walkways and shelters. Its three-dimensional surface integrates structure and form in a unique wave that undulates dramatically over and under the bridge deck and creating sheltered seating areas inside every upward curve. Its shape allows it to have hidden recesses and shell-like niches, where pedestrians can sit and observe their surroundings. With the sensitive use of natural organic shapes and materials such as wood and steel, this structure helps unite the city’s southern ridges, which are comprised of a 5-mile chain of green open spaces spanning the rolling hills of Mount Faber Park, Telok Blangah Hill Park and Kent Ridge Park before ending at West Coast Park
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Lisbon, Portugal MXT Studio 2015 16 ft above ground Bridge Metal box girders
The Pedestrian & Cycling Bridge aimed to connect pedestrian and cycling paths which are disconnected by a busy highway. Stretching and overlapping over a busy highway, the erection of the bridge has brought an increase of bicycle use in the city due to its strategy to encourage more leisure activities associated with cycling. The first stage of design was initially implemented in the northern city plateau with an elevation of 328 miles which was occupied by newly built neighborhoods. More recently, the same was executed but along the waterfront with the approximated elevation of 16 feet. Both locations had green spaces wide enough for safe cycle routes to be constructed away from traffic and cars.
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Rhode Island, USA inFORM Studio 2010 Bridge Metal structure
The Providence River Pedestrian Bridge is a unique urban proposal that connects two park spaces across a body of water. The bridge is a continuation of the parks, featuring a sculptural/wildflower garden and a cafĂŠ at water level. The relocation of a substantial, vehicular only conduit in favor of a pedestrian oriented connector will completely transform the spatial character of the Jewelry District/Old Harbor. Given this significant urban transformation, the project should envision a potential much larger than a pure connector. The proposed Providence River Pedestrian Bridge can become a spatial mediator between urban and ecological spaces and function as an integrated series of programs into the waterfront public spaces, allowing east and west to become a singular meandering public space. With this perspective, the proposal is better understood less as a bridge and more as an urban intervention. The alignment of this urban intervention simultaneously considers fluid movement through the city, orientation and views during the procession, and frames of view toward the bridge as an artistic object itself. Circulation of pedestrians and cyclists through the bridge is thought of as a series of tentacles gathering and dispersing travelers from numerous regions and directions. The east side of the bridge splinters into varying directions indicating subtle axis towards James Street, Transit Street, and a continuity of movement along the riverfront walk to both the north and the south. The west side is mediated with the sculpture/wildflower garden that orients travelers in four different directions.
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Tehran, Iran Diba Tensile Architecture 2014 886 ft Bridge Steel trusses
The Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge was designed to provide pedestrian access between two parks divided by highways. Through its curved form and dynamic volume, the bridge provides different views and program to happen within the truss design. The concept was to have a spatial structure large enough to create an inhabitable and architectural space. The result was a dynamic 3 dimensional truss with two continuous deck levels that sits on three columns. Where the truss meets the columns, it becomes the highest and widest, where the bridge becomes three levels. These third level areas act as viewing platforms. All the levels are connected to each other by stairs and ramps, providing multiple paths throughout the bridge from one level to another. This provides numerous ways to experience the bridge, encouraging pedestrians to wander and get lost on this bridge. The bridges are usually considered as structural projects, but here the approach was more architectural.
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Changsha Meixi Lake Industrial CO. LTD Changsha, China NEXT Architects 2013 606 ft in length & 79 ft high Bridge Steel
The Lucky Knot Bridge spanning the Dragon King Harbor River in Hunan Province, China has been designed to bring good luck. With a ribbon like form, the bridge offers sweeping views of the river and the city. In China, or at least in Hunan province, the knot symbolizes luck and prosperity and the bridge has been built accordingly. Form has taken precedence over function and anyone using it as part of their commute into the city is going to get a good workout. The city has many other conventional bridges for vehicles and pedestrians in a hurry. The steel pedestrian bridge is 606 feet long and 78 feet high and you can see it by visiting the Chinese city of Changsa. The bridge has been designed by NEXT architects which has offices in Amsterdam and Beijing. “The Lucky Knot is more than a bridge and a connection between two river banks. Its success lays in bringing cultures together, and in the fusion of history, technology, art, innovation, architecture and spectacle,� adds NEXT architects Beijing partner Jiang Xiaofei. The Lucky Knot connects, illuminates and entertains. The bridge offers a spectacular view of the river, Meixi Lake, the city of Changsha and the surrounding mountain range. Thanks to its remarkable LED lightshow, the bridge is set to become a landmark attraction in the light route that traces the path of the Dragon King Harbor River.
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Size Building Type Structure
Kistefos Museum Jevnaker, Norway BIG Project in design 15,070 sqft Bridge + Program hybrid Steel structure
The proposed design of the Kistefos Museum has been conceived as a simple beam that spans the river, forming a second bridge for the site. A twist in the building’s volume allows the structure to emerge from the lower forested area, towards the elevated hillside opposite. “This creates a series of interconnected spaces,” explains BIG. “A vertical stack of galleries for media, paintings, and sculpture to the south, and a horizontal, open gallery, ideal for sculptures and large installations, to the north.” Visitors enter the museum through a triple height sp ace at the southern end of the building, containing the institution’s information center and shop. From this entrance, guests have clear sightlines towards the other end of the museum, where a café offers views of the pulp mill and the surrounding landscape. A fanning stairway connects the various levels, doubling as an informal seating area and providing a space for video projections and performance art. The sculptural façade is a combination of brushed stainless steel and insulated glazed panels, clad with a reflective UV film to protect the museum’s artwork. Electrical solar shading is integrated in the framing system, offering both translucent brightness and complete darkness.
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Bridging
twisting
circulation
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Owner Location Architect Completion Project Size Building Type Structure
Municipality of Barendrecht The Netherlands Next Architects 2014 300 ft Observation bridge/tower Steel structure
Because of its structure, the shape of this project is hard to perceive; every perspective generates a new image with which the design is not only a contextual but also a very literal answer to the given context of the local art plan: an Elastic Perspective. A rusty steel ring is gently draped upon a grass hill in Carnisselande, a Rotterdam suburb. It’s a giant circular stair leading the visitor up to a height that allows an unhindered view of the horizon and the nearby skyline of Rotterdam. The path makes a continuous movement and thereby draws on the context of the heavy infrastructural surrounding of ring road and tram track. While a tram stop presents the end or the start of a journey, the route of the stairway is endless. Based on the principal of the Mobius strip, the continuous route of the stair is a delusion: "We are intrigued by the Mobius strip, by its characteristic of having only one surface, no top nor bottom. When used as a path, it suggests a continuity, but crossing that path is - at least physically - an impossibility. It’s that kind of ambiguity that we recognized in the inhabitants of this suburb: mentally they still feel very much connected to their mother town Rotterdam, but in daily life they are definitively disconnected. With the Mobius strip stair, we offer them a glimpse towards the Rotterdam skyline, but to continue their trip, they have to turn backwards, facing the context of their everyday life, Carnisselande. "Rotterdam, by tram just minutes away, but in perception and experience tucked behind infrastructure and noise barriers; far away, so close.
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