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.