Qianhai Financial District Pedestrian Bridges
Lightweight, Upright, Futuristic
Architecture of Contemporary Zeitgeist
We identified 27 principles that defines a good bridge, and applied them to the design of three elevated walkways for the Qianhai Financial District.
Connecting here and there, bridges are more than infrastructure. They impact user experience, alter urban environment, and symbolize a zeitgeist. In Hong Kong, badly designed elevated walkways could be congested, under ventilated, uninviting, or even worse, causing negative impact to nearby businesses. The debate over what constitutes a good bridge is frequent.
Iconic covered walkways around the world may shed us some inspirations. Scenic beauty with philosophical resonance, a sense of transition and reflection over the journey, an airy transparent design with ample greenery and ultra-high headroom, illustrating diverse approaches to bridge design. Consolidating these ideas we proposed three urban green links.
Minimal, transparent, well-ventilated bridge of longevity through S960 structural optimization.
Lightweight, Upright, Futuristic: Sustainable Bridges of Contemporary Zeitgeist
Bridges of Imagination
Each fragment of the urban tapestry tells a story. Qianhai, born from reclaimed land, stretches with large open spaces breathing in front of glazed towers that rise like quiet sentinels. Its atmospheric quality carries a softness, a haze where architecture fades into the sky, dissolving into a wash of pale blues, silvers, and cloud-whites. Our bridges are conceived not to stand apart, but to vanish into the poetic horizon, shaped with human grace, ergonomic precision, equipped with glazing treatments to prevent bird collisions, cladded with AIPV and BIPV for carbon positivity, and supported by S960 ultra-high strength steel structure for longevity. Functional, Humanistic, Unique, Innovative.
Infrastructure
Qianhai, Shenzhen, China
Overall Site Area: 1541 m2
Concept and Schematic Design
CHAU Lok-Kan, LUO Yachen,
LI Shiyu, FAN Jiawei
