Accedi
Utenti registrati
The Bridge of Nine Terraces, located at the Horticultural Expo Village and spans 36 meters over the Qixiang River. The bridge needs to satisfy the clearance for boat, and we hope it can also serve as a place for visitors to gather, rest and socialize. The bridge deck is divided into nine platforms – like nine connected pavilions that gradually rise and fall. The pitched roofs of the bridge cover as the main structural arch to suspend the nine platforms, and then the gravity and lateral thrust are finally passed on to the foundation through the U-shaped concrete bridgehead. The nine suspended platforms are light and permeable, while the bridgeheads are like two semi-outdoor cabins, presenting the pedestrian bridge with an implied meaning of returning home.
The barge of the Qixiang River is naturally sloped, and the width of the river varies between 18 and 30 meters due to the large difference in water level between the abundant and dry periods. This makes the structure span up to 37.8 meters on one hand, and on the other hand, the bridge deck elevation needs to be maintained above the high water level plus the safe height for boat traffic all the time.
The folded plate is two double-sloped roof structure, consisting of four inclined steel trusses, consisting of 500mm diameter upper and lower chord steel pipes, inclined webs and horizontal braces at the bottom to form two triangular section spatial trusses. The central part gently arching to form a whole folded plate truss arch, and the two sides are then suspended by the truss to form eaves, which provides flanging strength for the folded plate and also shades the lower space from the sun and rain. The entire arch is clad with titanium zinc panels on the upper surface and wood slats on the lower surface. The form composed of two common pitched roofs are small in section and harmonize with the roof of the houses in the village, but the hidden folded plate arch is strong, completing a 37.8m span with a 1.6m sagittal height and enough strength to suspend the bridge terraces below. The idea of the bridge space still comes from the small scale village house, we divide the 8m wide and 36m long bridge into nine 8m X 4.2m terraces, three of which were raised and five were lowered, connecting the higher south and lower north barge elevations in an asymmetrical way. The stacking solves the stability of the terraces and enables each terrace to have 6 hanging points with only 4m interval between the hanging points. The terraces thus obtain a thin structural thickness of 190mm and the distance between the bridge deck and the water is minimized.
Sitting on the bridge, the wooden eaves shade sunshine, bamboo curtains filter light, and the mountains and fields on both sides of the river extend into the distance along the Qixiang River. Through the metaphor of the half house at the bridgehead and the physically and mentally leisure experience of the hanging terraces, Scenic Architecture Ofifce give this bridge the imagery of homecoming and sightseeing by combining form and technology
Scenic Architecture Office was founded in Shanghai in 2004. In any project undertaken, they start from the needs of body-mind, nature and society, and try to establish a balanced and dynamic relationship between these aspects through architectural ontology to carve a new identity for contemporary architecture niched between Chinese tradition and the future. Scenic Architecture Office’s works have earned awards like Architizer A+ Award, Archdaily Annual China Architecture Award, WAACA Award, Far Eastern Architectural Design Award, etc. Their works have also been invited to partake in various exhibitions, including the Solo show “Translated Traditions – Public Courtyards and Urban Platforms” held by Berlin Aedes Architecture Forum, Venice Architecture Biennale, Milano Triennial, and exhibitions held by London Victoria and Albert museum, MAK, NAI, etc. In 2022, the office had its first monograph “Rebirth of form-type” published by Images Publishing Group worldwide.
