A design by WXY Architecture & Urban Design and Weidlinger Associates has won an international competition to design the Nanhe River Landscape Bridge in Xinjin County, China for the Chengdu Xinjin Urban & Rural Development Investment Company.
Construction of the 235m-long bridge is scheduled to begin this summer.
The objective of the design was to go beyond 'simply getting from point A to point B,' said WXY principal Mark Yoes. 'Instead, we wanted to create an experience similar to traversing a main path in a great park; something beautiful, enjoyable and memorable.'
The team's complex helical design is intended to evoke the flow of the river. "The two intertwined ribbons also serve a practical purpose: greatly expanding the capacity of the bridge to allow it to keep pace with Xinjin's future growth,' said Yoes.
The bridge is held up by five multi-limbed supports and the form of the bridge is derived from the linear extrusion of a simple steel box girder.
