Archinect - News

For World Engineering Day, these six bridges stand as examples of the complexities underneath every design

2024-03-04T20:06:00-05:00

Today is World Engineering Day, and to celebrate it, Archinect has curated a few outstanding bridge projects we’ve included in our recent news coverage to highlight critical pieces of infrastructure at an important time for civil and structural engineering in the Americas and abroad.

The six highlighted bridges provide examples of remarkable design standards and engineering practices while, in some instances, setting records and starting off new precedents for incorporating alternative materials, the conditions of a circular economy, aesthetic variance, building science, low-carbon construction methods, and more.

Strait of Messina Bridge from the Stretto di Messina SpA and Webuild (Sicily, Italy)

Rendering courtesy Webuild

What will become the world’s longest suspension bridge design when completed has been stalled in the project pipeline since 2003. Now, with the constant stop-and-start cycle behind it, the seven-year project will advance toward a likely construction start later th...

Gordie Howe International Bridge construction: Opening delayed to September 2025

2024-01-09T17:04:00-05:00

The completion date for the delayed Gordie Howe International Bridge has been pushed back to September 2025, according to the Detroit Free Press.

A public announcement put out by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority detailed the progress that’s been made since the project commenced in late 2018.

Since that time, the bridge’s road deck construction, stay cable installation, and Port of Entry facilities have progressed successfully. Completion of the road deck, stay cable installations, and ancillary Port of Entry outbuildings will follow in the coming year. The finalization of the operations process is then anticipated for the year after.

"After a three-year pandemic and considering the size and complexity of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project, our project team is pleased that the impact to the construction schedule is limited to only 10 months beyond the original contracted com...

Zaha Hadid Architects completes arching bridge across China’s Jiangxi River

2023-08-21T11:27:00-04:00

Construction has been completed on the Zaha Hadid Architects-designed Chengdu West First Bridge in China. Spanning 600 feet across the Jiangxi River, the bridge caters to motorists, cyclists, and pedestrians.

Image credit: Liang Xue

The symmetrical bridge comprises two primary steel arches that rise from either side of the road deck. The arches lean together as they rise to touch tangentially at the bridge's peak, offering stability from lateral wind loads.

Image credit: Arch Exist

Image credit: Liang Xue

The bridge’s arches are tied together at their base by longitudinal box girders that run along the edge of the road deck. The ties are designed to counteract the outward horizontal pressure of each arch and thus significantly reduce the horizontal loads on the bridge’s foundations.

Image credit: Arch Exist

“The dynamic curvature of the bridge’s supporting piers and abutments taper into its primary arches and road deck, defining a sculptural landmark within Chengdu’s transport infrastru...

New construction updates on Zaha Hadid Architects' pedestrian bridge project in Hangzhou, China

2023-07-28T13:34:00-04:00

Zaha Hadid Architects has shared a new video detailing the construction progress of its pedestrian bridge project over the Grand Canal in Hangzhou, China.

Concrete arches are now in place for the bridge, which is located not far from the site of the firm’s recently announced multivenue sports complex. The design connects with the larger ‘Seamless City’ masterplan, which is underway on both sides of the city’s Qiantang River.

A video of the bridge’s progress can be viewed below courtesy of Hangzhou CBD Development Group.

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A post shared by Zaha Hadid Architects (@zahahadidarchitects)

The firm shares: “The new 320m pedestrian bridge defines the Grand Canal’s southern gateway on the Qiantang River, marking the start of the canal’s journey 1776 km north to Beijing. China’s most historic man-made waterway, some sections of the Grand Canal date back to the 5th century BC.”

New York’s High Line opens two timber bridges by SOM and Field Operations

2023-06-23T08:00:00-04:00

The newest addition to New York City’s High Line has opened to the public. Named the Moynihan Connector, and designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with James Corner Field Operations, the timber bridges form a link between a series of civic spaces from Midtown West to the West Village.

The Connector is composed of two bridges running above Dyer Avenue and West 30th Street, creating what the team calls an “elevated, accessible, and episodic urban journey from the doorstep of Moynihan Train Hall to the contemporary public spaces of Brookfield’s Manhattan West and the verdant gardens and historic structure of the High Line.” The larger bridge, named the Woodland Bridge, comprises a 340-foot-long structure of exposed weathered columns and angle bracket arms. Meanwhile, the 260-foot-long Timber Bridge comprises a glulam Warren truss made from sustainably sourced wood.

Image credit: Andrew Frasz

“The High Line – Moynihan Connector knits the city’s open spaces together — bringing greater ac...

An early drawing of the Golden Gate Bridge showcases a radically different design

2021-08-16T18:37:00-04:00

The single image published Dec. 8, 1922, resembles the industrial Carquinez Bridge, except at 20 times the scale. It’s the kind of bridge one designs when all they have to work with is Popsicle sticks and string.

An engineer turned newspaper editor named James Wilkins was the first to propose the bridge in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article. Joseph Strauss' early plans called for a cantilever-suspension hybrid but were later changed due to eight-figure cost concerns.

Illustration of the preliminary cantilever-suspension hybrid concept by Joseph Strauss in 1921.

The bridge has recently been put to use as an impromptu music prop after a 2020 retrofit added an unintended sonic feature. Car traffic on the bridge has also declined in a potential harbinger of pandemic-produced changes. The Chronicle has more on the unearthed early drawing here.

Volkan Alkanoglu's new 'Drift' Pedestrian Bridge opens in Fort Worth, Texas

2021-08-05T10:06:00-04:00

Portland, Oregon-based designer Volkan Alkanoglu has installed a new timber and steel pedestrian bridge to showcase the “Plug-and-play urbanism” design strategy that is emerging behind the help of new technologies. The prefabricated off-site and installed in only a few hours, Noah’s Ark-like structure was commissioned by the city’s Public Art program to span an 80-foot-wide culvert in the South Hills neighborhood south of downtown.

The design is meant to resemble driftwood that collects in the creek area, which is also defined by mid-century modern ranch homes that Alkanoglu drew on for an additional reference.

Photography by Jennifer Boomer

Per the architect: “While Alkanoglu originally envisioned fabricating the bridge solely from cross-laminated timber, budgetary constraints encouraged a different but equally innovative strategy. Taking a cue from shipbuilding techniques, he and a team of engineers began with a steel armature, but veered away from tradition by cladding it with CN...