The Future for Innovative Bridge Architecture

Booster Blog

The Future for Innovative Bridge Architecture

A bridge is much more than just a connection between two points. They represent technical excellence, breath-taking designs, vision and inspirational concepts.

Around the world some architects are taking this to the next level with some ground breaking and stunning designs, the likes of which we’ve never seen before.

The New Budapest Bridge

The need for a new bridge connecting the two halves of Hungary’s capital was first identified as far back as 1985. But it wasn’t until 2017 that the competition for the design were opened.

Seventeen entries were submitted with the winning design announced in February 2018. And the winner? That was a consortium of UNStudio and Buro Happold Engineering. You may know UNStudio as they were responsible for the breath-taking Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam.

The team from UNStudio, led by founder and principle architect Ben Van Berkel, have designed a stunning bridge. Spanning 220 meters across the river Danube, the cable stayed bridge features steel pylons with a white painted finish.

This unique design gives unobstructed views of the city as well as providing an elegant backdrop to the city. Construction is anticipated to start soon and should take two to three years.

Five Farming Bridges

The Rifat Chadirji Prize is an annual architectural established to celebrate the best of Iraqi architecture. The 2017 prize centered around the Iraqi city of Mosul. Years of occupation by Daesh has left the city in a horrific condition. The competition called for ideas to rebuild the liberated areas of the city.

 The 2017 winner was Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, from the Paris-based practice Vincent Callebaut Architectures.

His winning design, ‘Five Farming Bridges’, provided an inspired and ecological conscious solution. Each bridge would be constructed from materials 3D printed from the debris from the war ruins. This makes construction affordable and minimises environmental impact.

Once built, each bridge will hold up to 53,000 homes, with each topped with urban farms and agricultural fields. These will provide not only food, but thermal inertia for each property.

Further sustainable features would be added including supplying water from the Tigris river, grey water filtration via lagoon waterfalls and biomass composters.

 This unique design can be moved up and down the river as needed on its main floating section. This main section features a carbon-fibre triple sail as well.

Revolving Sail-boat Bridge

The brainchild of Margot Krasojevic, this stunning design was an awardee in the RTF Sustainability Awards 2017.  The design is for a pedestrian bridge over the Wulanmulun River, Ordos city, Kangbashi district Mongolia.

Once in position, the pedestrian walkways expand into place with a telescopic secondary structure supporting it. Finally, the main section is shored up either by mooring or anchoring in place as appropriate.

The bridge also includes solar panels along the walkways to provide sustainable energy for the three electric motor generates.

These innovations enable the bridge to be sailed, towed or to motor into position along the river as needed.

These innovative designs don’t only inspire, they also present a challenge for construction. That’s why Bolidt works in close partnership with the most inspiring architects around the world to develop custom and next generation solutions today. No matter what innovative designs these leading-lights create, we’ll work hard to create the materials to realise their inspiration.