it’s time for a list about brilliant bridges, but not the bridges you normally see in these kinds of lists. i wanted to avoid the usual suspects as they seem to get pounded to death on the intertubes and there’s only so many photos of the golden gate bridge you can look at without becoming just slightly bored.
voila…
pedestrian bridge, texas, u.s.a.
this beautiful arched bridge in lake austin was a private build by miro rivera architects and is used to connect the client’s main house to the smaller guest house on the other side of the water. the idea was to make the bridge seem as natural as possible within its surroundings and to do this they made the decking and reed-like hand rails as imperfect as possible. the result is a bridge that looks extremely fragile but definitely worth the risk.
octavio frias de oliveira bridge, são paulo, brazil
sources: top / middle / bottom
opened in may of this year, the octavio frias de oliveira bridge is a stunning x-shaped cable-stayed bridge that crosses the pinheiros river in sao paulo. it’s design is unique in that the 2 curved decks of the bridge cross each other through its x-shaped supporting tower, an illuminated structure that stands 450ft tall and has attached to it 144 steel cables. the bridge’s LED lightshow can be read about here.
kintaikyo, iwakuni, japan
the original kintai bridge was built in 1673 and didn’t stand very long until it was damaged due to flooding. it was then rebuilt and survived for more than 200 years until a typhoon battered it to death in 1950. the bridge that stands now over the nishiki river is the 3rd build and looks magnificent, it’s 5 wooden arches displaying an incredible amount of detail and craftmanship. interesting fact: no nails or bolts have been used to build the arches, only clamps and wires.
juscelino kubitschek bridge, brasilia, brazil
the jk bridge in brasilia is a lesson in elegant bridge design. the 3 huge arches diagonally hopping over the deck of the bridge give the structure an amazing visual fluidity and make the whole 1.2km bridge look effortlessly cool. since being built the bridge has won awards for its design but is still massively underappreciated on a wider scale. i reckon this must be one of the best bridges around.
rolling bridge, london, u.k.
thomas heatherwick’s award-winning rolling bridge is an ingenious addition to the grand union canal system in london and is unique in its design. unlike regular movable canal bridges, the rolling bridge curls up on itself to form an octagon by way of hydraulics. it’s an amazing sight and a reminder that a fresh perspective can produce great, innovative results, even when dealing with a structure as common as a bridge.
beipanjiang river railroad bridge, guizhou, china
beipanjiang river railroad bridge in guizhou is an enormous railway bridge that was built as part of the much larger ‘guizhou-shuibai railway project’ (pdf). connecting 2 mountains over a deep ravine, at its highest point the bridge’s deck sits 918ft above the ground (to compare, at its highest point the millau viaduct’s deck clears the river underneath by 890ft). the bridge has succeeded in connecting 2 of the country’s poorest areas.
henderson waves, southern ridges, singapore
‘henderson waves’ is singapore’s highest pedestrian bridge and can be found at the southern ridges, a beautiful 9km stretch of gardens and parks which has frequently drawn comparisons to new york’s central park. the bridge itself is absolutely stunning. the deck is made from thousands of balau wood slats, perfectly cut and arranged, and along the length of the deck a huge snaking, undulating shell cleverly forms sheltered seating areas on every upward curve. if i was to make sweet love to a bridge, this would be the one.
pont gustave flaubert, rouen, france
this is the incredible, brand new vertical lift bridge in rouen, france, a beast of a structure whose 2 bridge spans weigh 1′200tons each but can be hoisted 180ft vertically by the bridge’s lifting mechanism in an impressive 12 minutes. just the angular structures at the top of each tower weigh in at 450tons each, helping to support the lifting system as cruise ships sail through.
hegigio gorge pipeline bridge, southern highlands province, papua new guinea
sources, clockwise from top: 1, 2 (pdf), 3
technically, this is a bridge: it’s a structure which spans a gorge. the only difference is, the bridge can’t be used by humans due to the fact that its purpose is to support 2 pipelines - 1 gas, 1 oil - across the extremely high gap in papua new guinea. so high in fact that if this were to be officially recognised as a bridge it would rocket to the top of the ‘world’s highest bridge-span’ list at an impressive height of 1′290ft. by comparison, the current highest bridge span belongs to the royal gorge bridge in colorado, hanging a mere 1′053ft above ground level, whilst manhattan’s chrysler building measures 1′047ft.
