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.
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 this year. It’s designed to span 10,800 total feet, connecting mainland Italy to Messina at a cost of $5 billion USD. Once in place, it will stand on a set of 1,250-foot pylons supporting a roadway that’s capable of withstanding a 7.1-magnitude earthquake and winds of up to 180 miles per hour. Ironically, the bridge has divided critics and the Italian populace alike against its alleged mafia opposition and lack of alternatives.
A standout among the influx of mass timber projects to have gained in popularity recently, the project creates linkages from the High Line to Manhattan West and the West Village at two locations above 30th Street and Dyer Avenue. The designs were completed for just $50 million and are combined for a total of 600 feet, creating for users what SOM Design Principal Kim Van Holsbeke described as an “episodic journey through some of the best civic spaces that New York has to offer” upon their debut last June.
A continuation of the pairing’s previous collaborative 3D printed effort for the 2021 Venice Biennale, the second iteration actually achieved a 25% reduction of its carbon footprint over its predecessor while demonstrating a construction method that did away with the need for concrete reinforcement or post-tensioning using only geometry.
Philippe Block of the award-winning Block Research Group at the ETH Zürich said the principles of its design can even potentially be used in high-rise floor slab construction. Nearly all of its circular components are capable of disassembly — meaning another update is likely to rise for a third appearance in the not-too-distant future.
Designed to connect level five of the new 10-story Limberlost Place development near the Toronto waterfront, the bridge spans 70 feet to connect on two glue-laminated trusses completed by another four cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels. It took just five days total (four for assembly, with a one-day lift) to install. The structure it's attached to will stand as Ontario's first mass timber and net-zero carbon emissions institutional building once it is completed later this year.
The 600-foot span bridges the Jiangxi River for pedestrians and cyclists using tangentially touching arches that resist lateral winds and tied-together longitudinal box girders to reduce the horizontal loads at its foundation. The design teams say it is a “defining a sculptural landmark within Chengdu’s transport infrastructure.” It is one of three ZHA bridges to have been featured in our editorial over the past year, including the Phoenix and a larger pedestrian bridge over the Grand Canal in Hangzhou, China, that was last updated in July.
Notable for its first-ever use of Ground Glass Pozzolan (GGP) materials, the design also uses a total of 88,000 pounds of locally sourced recycled glass to achieve a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for the project by 44 tons overall. Provencher_Roy worked with researchers from Université de Sherbrooke and the City of Montreal to develop GGP. The result “elegantly conveys a sense of movement” across its entire 37-meter (121.3-foot) span, which pedestrianized a vehicle-centric local Nuns’ Island favorite from the 1960s.
“For this project, we were therefore working in a paradoxical 1960s context, on an innovative urban project to improve the user experience, while also contending with the formal urban treatments required for road transportation,” Project Manager Jacques Rousseau explains. “Our intention therefore reconciles these two rudimentary propositions in the development of a solution that at once enhances the architectural language and fulfills safety regulations.”
Don't miss out on future related stories on Archinect by following our “bridge” news tag.
No Comments
Block this user
Are you sure you want to block this user and hide all related comments throughout the site?
Archinect
This is your first comment on Archinect. Your comment will be visible once approved.