Miró Rivera''s Pedestrian Bridge, Austin, Texas
This beautiful arched bridge in Lake Austin was a private build
by Miro Rivera Architects and is used to connect the client''s main
house to the smaller guest house on the other side of the water.
The idea was to make the bridge seem as natural as possible
within its surroundings and to do this they made the decking and
reed-like hand rails as imperfect as possible. The result is a bridge
that looks extremely fragile but definitely worth the risk.
Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge, São Paulo, Brazil
Opened in May of this year, the Octavio Frias de Oliveira Bridge
is a stunning x-shaped cable-stayed bridge that crosses the
Pinheiros River in Sao Paulo . It''s design is unique in that
the 2 curved decks of the bridge cross each other through
its x-shaped supporting tower, an illuminated structure that
stands 450 ft tall and has attached to it 144 steel cables.
Kintaikyo, Iwakuni, Japan
The original Kintai Bridge was built in 1673 and didn''t stand
very long until it was damaged due to flooding. It was then rebuilt
and survived for more than 200 years until a typhoon battered it
to death in 1950.
The bridge that stands now over the Nishiki River is the 3rd build
and looks magnificent, its 5 wooden arches displaying
an incredible amount of detail and craftmanship. Interesting fact:
no nails or bolts have been used to build the arches,
only clamps and wires.
Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, Brasilia, Brazil
The JK Bridge in Brasilia is a lesson in elegant bridge design.
The 3 huge arches diagonally hopping over the deck of the bridge
give the structure an amazing visual fluidity and make the whole
1.2 km bridge look effortlessly cool. Since being built the bridge
has won awards for its design but is still massively
underappreciated on a wider scale.
Rolling Bridge, London, UK
Thomas Heatherwick''s award-winning rolling bridge is
an ingenious addition to the grand union canal system in London
and is unique in its design.
Unlike regular movable canal bridges, the rolling bridge curls up
on itself to form an octagon by way of hydraulics.
It''s an amazing sight and a reminder that a fresh perspective can
produce great, innovative results, even when dealing with
a structure as common as a bridge.
Beipanjiang River Railroad Bridge, Guizhou, China
Beipanjiang River Railroad Bridge in Guizhou is an enormous
railway bridge that was built as part of the much larger
''Guizhou-Shuibai Railway Project''.
Connecting 2 mountains over a deep ravine, at its highest point
the bridge''s deck sits 918 ft above the ground (to compare,
at its highest point the Millau viaduct''s deck clears the river
underneath by 890 ft).
The bridge has succeeded in connecting 2 of
the country''s poorest areas.
Henderson Waves, Southern Ridges, Singapore
''Henderson Waves'' is Singapore ''s highest pedestrian bridge
and can be found at the southern ridges, a beautiful 9 km stretch
of gardens and parks which has frequently drawn comparisons
to New York ''s Central Park . The bridge itself is absolutely
stunning. The deck is made from thousands of Balau wood slats,
perfectly cut and arranged, and along the length of the deck
a huge snaking, undulating shell cleverly forms sheltered
seating areas on every upward curve.
Pont Gustave Flaubert, Rouen, France
This is the incredible, brand new vertical lift bridge in Rouen,
France, a beast of a structure whose 2 bridge spans weigh
1,200 tons each but can be hoisted 180 ft vertically by the bridge''s
lifting mechanism in an impressive 12 minutes. Just the angular
structures at the top of each tower weigh in at 450 tons each,
helping to support the lifting system as cruise ships sail through.
Hegigio Gorge Pipeline Bridge, Southern Highlands Province, Papua, New Guinea
Technically, this is a bridge: it''s a structure which spans a gorge.
The only difference is, the bridge can''t be used by humans due
to the fact that its purpose is to support 2 pipelines -- 1 gas,
1 oil -- across the extremely high gap in Papua , New Guinea.
So high in fact that if this were to be officially recognised as
a bridge it would rocket to the top of the ''world''s highest
bridge-span'' list at an impressive height of 1,290ft.
By comparison, the current highest bridge span belongs to
the Royal Gorge Bridge in Colorado, hanging a mere 1,053ft
above ground level, while Manhattan ''s Chrysler Building
measures 1,047 ft. |