HANGZHOU BRIDGES

Hangzhou was awarded the right to host the 2022 Asian Games
(XIX ASIAD). The Asian Games Village site is located along the east
coast of Hangzhou Qiantang River, close to the Qianjiang Century
City CBD. The masterplan covers 2.96 km², which is 3 km away
from the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center.

The Bridge has a very special position and is an integral part of
Hangzhou‘s new silhouette. It is the entrance by water to the entire
site, and must be treated in an exceptional way. We anticipate that
people will regard it as a landmark for their orientation and it must
be visible from the distance.

The bridge plays an important role in the traffic
system of the Riverbank for both vehicles and public
transportation on one hand, and pedestrians who
will be crossing the water channel very frequently
on the other hand. In addition to it´s symbolic role
like a gate, it possesses an elegant and recognizable
silhouette that could be likened to the number
“8”,the Moebius band, or even the symbol for infinity
(longevity). At the same time, it is visually not
competing with the iconic buildings behind it.
In the Chinese gardens, bridges are built over
waterways as a symbol of passage to an important
place or a state of mind (a set of five bridges cross a
meandering waterway in an important courtyard of
the Forbidden City a.o.).

The concept is deeply rooted in history and tradition of Hangzhou, whose
identity is closely connected to the water.
The City of Hangzhou, probably the most famous of all water towns, could
therefore also be called the City of Bridges. Every single of the seven bridges
serve a particular purpose and address different situations.
Some of them are very exposed and visible from afar, others are more
low-key and support daily traffic of different users in a sophisticated traffic
system. Benjing Road Bridge follows the typology of numerous famous
covered bridges built in Europe and Asia in the past centuries. This bridge
offers excellent protection for pedestrians from the weather elements.
Beijing Road Bridge also accommodates other
content, such as shops and small businesses
along both sides. It is the continuation of a major
pedestrian thoroughfare and links the complex
contents on both river banks and in the streets
behind them. Acting like a water pavilion, it creates
a very “urban” situation. It enables pleasant and
easy pedestrian traffic regardless of the weather
conditions.
The first purpose of every bridge is to span
physical obstacles without being an obstacle
in itself, blocking passage over a body of water
or a valley, usually something that can be
detrimental to cross otherwise. Since many
different designs for this structure can be built
for this purpose, we have decided to create
a clear “Character”, which is derived from a
particular situation and a particular context.
The designs of the bridges vary, depending on
the function of the bridge, not only because
of the nature of the terrain and soil condition
where the bridges are constructed and
anchored, but also because of their functional
complexity as affected by their location.
The seven ASIAD-bridges are built in
combinations of materials: concrete, steel,
fiber reinforced polymers (FRP) and stainless
steel.