Like a patriotic strand of DNA, the Nanhe River Landscape Bridge in Xinjin, China was designed by New York studio WXY Architecture and Weidlinger Associates Consulting Engineers.
The team's winning design features two individual and intertwining bridges that form a braided pattern. The undulating curves of the bridge are meant to represent the flow of the river.
The helical bridge is held up by five multi-limbed supports, increasing the current spacing for watercraft and other recreational uses of the river. The two intertwined ribbons also serve a practical purpose by greatly expanding the capacity of the bridge to allow it to keep pace with Xinjin's future growth.
“Like a main path in a great park,” the architects say, “the journey across the bridge should be an experience unto itself.”
