During the Japanese colonization period, sugar industry had driven the building of Beigang Taiwan Sugar Railway and Beigang Fuxing Bridge. Chia-Pei Railway became the popular route because of the economic development of Xingang and Beigang, also the flourishing of Beigang Chao-Tian Temple and Xingang Feng-Tian Temple. Unfortunately, Chia-Pei Railway was finally suspended as the sugar industry was declined.
We try to induce a new life to this cultural, memorable and unique old railway, our principle of design is “the conversation between new old, low and kind development”. We design a tourism and leisure linear green belt and water belt area, which can link to the community of Beigang, providing an outdoor space for residents closer to the natural environment and waters. Besides, after the suspended of sugar railway, the mound became meaningless, just like an earthwork which separate the urban to front and back side. Therefore, we attempt to reverse the blemish side of railway by using an open attitude, which will increase the sense of identity and the sustainable value, driving more cultural and creative business behavior along two roadsides.
Meanwhile, Wenhua Road is the only way of the Live Arts Club in Matsu Birthday Procession Festival every year, therefore the section crossing Wenhua Road is designed 1m higher than the lowest limited height 4.6m of other normal bridges, this bridge will become an important connection between culture and citizen. The unique topography provide a different altitude and angle of view, we use galvanized hollow grid as the paved pedestrian trails, and we lift up 30cm above the protecting slope in order to keep a closely and respectful distance between people and woods. A wide range of materials is applied to this design responding the variety of expression of the existing townhouses.
Sky Bridge is made of RC structure with massive and rugged exposed concrete, which is a sharp contrast with the freedom experience of people. We transform “walking on the bridge” to “walking inside the bridge” by changing the structure system from RC deep beam structure to wall structure. People can view the old Fuxing Bridge ruins throughout the frame on wall with different sensory experience from open to compression, then to focus. Beigang River is surrounded by rich humanity, hydrology, geography resources, Sky Bridge is an intermediary earth sculpture, it is not just connecting two directions, but mostly for staying, gazing all the past memorable history of Beigang.
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RC slabs make it interesting and not only a bridge but also a sculpture, landscape, space….
RC box structure at the end lead to another bridge.
Picture from side.
Embankment and bridge.
Inside the bridge.
Walk into and through, this bridge is a part of green line in Beigang.
Bridge leads to the sky!
A lot of space for watching, standing…and create a relationship with surrounding.
Structure trans from slab to box
A posture on the slope.
Alcove for people stay here.
Old rail in the back became a front green park for the residents.
Beigang Township, Yunlin County, Taiwan
Yunlin County Government
06/2015
300 m2
Wei-Li Liao
AMBi Studio
You-Zhen Contractor
TSD Structure
AMBi Studio
Curriculum
PERSONAL RESUME
Wei-Li Liao, born in Town Tung-Hsiao, Taiwan. He graduated form SCI-Arc in 1999, taught by Coy Howard, Eric Owen Moss; and established AMBi Studio in Taichung, 2001. Through trying to apply landscape and humanism in the middle west of Taiwan for site plus background, he practices, thinks and self-examines architecture for this island, which owned a changing politic, culture and history, as well as the various ecology, landscape, and heterogeneous citizen power with observation and challenge. His project presented a fierce energy of multi-diversity in Taiwanese architecture and the integration between environment and people.