Baisha River footbridge, Shenfu

The city of Shenyang will double it’s size in the coming 20 years. Shenfu will become one of the new urban districts. A completely new recreation system will be developed together with the city expansion. The Baisha River banks will be transformed into parks with, among others, a rose gardens and a viewing tower. The river banks will be connected with each other by a newly constructed bridge. The bridge for the pedestrians will be 90 meters long. The design is inspired by a traditional zigzag bridge that appears in many traditional Chinese gardens. The bridge consists of two asymmetrically folded plains with a deck. The fold lines are designed in such a way that the side surfaces variably rotate around their horizontal axis. The slanting side surfaces strengthen the experience of the zigzag movement. These surfaces are cut in such way that a saw tooth pattern arises in the side view. It looks like if the side surfaces hardly touch the foundation in the water. In this way a sculptural bridge emerges which gracefully dances above the water. Details like bearing, dilatation and lighting are subordinate to the main form of the bridge and are integrated as much as possible by means of minimalistic design language.
 

location: Shenfu, China
year of design: 2012
client: Niek Roozen bv
in collaboration with: Niek Roozen bv