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Cast-in-Place Steel: Robots to 3D-Print Metal Bridge in Holland

17 Jun

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

3d canal crossing bridge

Designed to span a historic canal of Amsterdam, this cutting-edge structure will bridge traditional and automatic construction techniques using continuous extrusion technology to generate three-dimensionally-complex, self-supporting steel space frames. Imagine for a moment a pair of robots scaling the very structures they are building as they build them, walking themselves out over a bridge from both sides to meet in the middle. The approach of casting a material in place, generally associated with concrete, is suddenly possible for metallic substances as well.

3d welding steel extrusion

3d welding sautering prototype

3d printed bridge robots

Having already created a series of increasingly successful small-scale prototypes, Dutch design firm Heijmans (already well known for houses built in one day and glow-in-the-dark bike paths in The Netherlands), tech startup MX3D and designer Joris Laarman are working together to make this design/build concept a reality. Programmed to extrude and weld together steel segments, specialized robotic builders are able to assemble a network of structural lines and curves to form a load-bearing bridge in this case, but could be deployed to frame tall buildings in the future as well.

3d extruding robot curves

3d curved steel form

3d bridge prototype rock

“Construction and design are currently rather separate factors in construction – the architect designs something and the constructor interprets the design and builds what he thinks is needed,” says Jurre van der Ven, Heijmans’ Innovation Manager. “But using 3D printing for a bridge makes design and construction operate hand-in-hand. For instance, both activities are done at the same time, instead of first building the structure and then adding the design later. This means we will also have to start looking at design in a completely different manner.”

3d bridge design renderings

3d bridge span connection

3d on site construction

Refined and optimized, such techniques and technologies will ultimately bring down the cost of construction, reduce building waste and help automate worksites. The first real-world application being a bridge is no coincidence, but rather a “fantastic metaphor for connecting the technology of the future with the city’s historic past, in a way which would reveal the best aspects of both worlds.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Table for Two: Window as Bridge & Barrier Between Shared Seat

22 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

table public art piece

Putting you in the spotlight with a stranger, this installation in New York City is a perhaps-paradoxical commentary on both connection and isolation in urban environments.

table for two project

Located at 7th Avenue and Carmine Street in Manhattan, Table for Two by Parisian native Shani Ha was designed to separate the participants with a window, yet by its placement and proximity makes simultaneously for intimately-shared moments.

table glass nyc art

Vicky Gan describes it as “part sculpture, part performance art, it challenges those who sit down to look up from their smartphones and into the eyes of a friend, a stranger, or their own reflections in the glass. A self-conscious homage to Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks, the work realizes the age-old concept of the big, crowded city as a lonely, isolating place.”

table for two corner art

Like any good piece of interactive art, the stories about its usage are what show it works – deaf people communicating in sign language across the glass in one case or a couple talking to each other (like in prison) on phones in another.

table for two new york

Technology, claims the artist, is responsible “making us more self-centered because [it gives] us the power to access only the people we decide to access,” whereas the intention in this piece is “to break the bridge between the outside and the inside, and allow a new form of interaction between people.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

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London Bridge: 12 Contenders Including ‘Flaming Mouth of Hades’

05 Mar

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

london bridge 008

Some of the concepts submitted for the new Nine Elms to Pimlico pedestrian bridge in London are rather – well – pedestrian, while others are so out-there they’ve been nicknamed ‘The Flaming Mouth of Hades.’ Spanning the Thames River, the bridge will link two very different parts of the city, and must be “technically rigorous and beautiful,” cyclist-friendly and well-engineered while providing headroom for river traffic.

london bridge 3

london bridge 4

londonb ridge 5

The competition to design the bridge has drawn dozens of entries from around the world, with a shortlist set to be announced later this month and a winner unveiled in July. The design brief notes that “how the bridge looks from afar, as it bestrides the Thames, what it feels like to cross and how it touches land on either shore – and the places that it creates around each landing point – will be critical to its success.”

london bridge 022

london bridge 003

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london bridge 19

Thus far, there’s only a gallery of images to look at, without any supporting information on each design, so it’s hard to tell just what we’re looking at in some cases. The City Metric called most of the entries ‘ridiculous,’ pointing out “the one which is definitely not a bridge,” “the one like a nightmarish Escher painting” and “the one that’s a spoon.”

londonb ridge 056

london bridge 079

london bridge 012

london bridge hades

It’s clear enough why the word Hades was invoked to describe the strange violet-and-orange creation pictured above, and it’s unclear how this design would actually function as a bridge. You have to wonder whether some of the entrants are just trolling. But some of the designs are actually quite beautiful, like the one featuring a perforated undulating canopy over a network of paths planted with greenery. However will the judges choose?

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Parasitic City: Micro-Metropolis Attaches Itself to a Bridge

30 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

bridge city 1

As the economic divide grows and affordable land becomes more scarce, local residents could re-take outlying spaces and even iconic local structures with self-governed parasitic micro-cities. In French architect Stephane Malka’s concept ‘P9 Ghetto-Mobile,’ a collection of rectilinear rooms in a shocking hue of red seems to float within a lace-like structure, hovering above the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris.

bridge city 2

bridge city 3

The modular system of private and public spaces, connected by footbridges, could be adapted for all sorts of disused urban settings. The designer describes the scheme as a ‘voluntary ghetto’ in which local residents choose to create their own miniature city with residences, offices, galleries, night clubs, shops and playgrounds, all owned and run by themselves.

bridge city 4

Mounted on scaffolding, the structures can be quickly assembled and disassembled to move on to a new location when necessary, adapting into new configurations as the site and number of participants changes. Says Malka, “It is a voluntary ghetto, an organized community of ideas, a hood built from an appropriation of land both conquered and controlled.”

bridge city 5

bridge city 6

The concept calls to mind other bridge city designs, which either reinvent existing bridges like the London Bridge and abandoned stretches of highway in Italy, or create entirely new infrastructure to stretch architecture across canyons or bodies of water.

[ By Steph in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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Looking Sharp: Blade-Like Bridge Slices Through the Air

09 Oct

[ By Steph in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

blade bridge 1

Five blade-like beams slice into the sky when this cantilevered footbridge in London’s Merchant Square rises to make way for boats moving along the Grand Union Canal. The movement of its dynamic design is inspired by the opening and closing of a traditional hand-held fan, the steel elements separating as they’re lifted into the air by hydraulic jacks.

blade bridge

blade bridge 2

Designed by Knight Architects and AKT II, the bridge spans a 20-meter (65-foot) section of the canal. The beams weigh six to seven tons each, and are balanced by a 40-ton counterweight. When fully open, the bottom blade hovers about 8 feet over the surface of the water. When closed, the bridge offers a flat and comparatively unremarkable surface that pedestrians can cross three-abreast.

blade bridge 3 blade bridge 4

Envisioned as a kinetic sculpture, the design beat out dozens of others in a 2012 contest. Like Thomas Heatherwick’s nearby Rolling Bridge, which curls into a ball as it opens, the new bridge rises every Friday and is considered a landmark for the area.

[ By Steph in Destinations & Sights & Travel. ]

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Spiral Architecture: 12 Swirling Building & Bridge Designs

06 Feb

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

Spiral Architecture Main

Ubiquitous in nature and mathematics, spirals are beautiful to look at and provide a structure that’s strong and stable, so it’s no surprise that they turn up so often in architecture, too. Spiraling forms offer uninterrupted panoramas on observation towers, remove the obstacles of walls and floors in a creative interior, and enable unusual stacked configurations of living spaces in skyscrapers.

Evolver by Alice Studio

Spiral Architecture Evolver

The spiraling viewing platform in Zermatt, Switzerland by Alice Studio fuses beautiful design with a function that enables uninterrupted panoramas of the surrounding landscape. It was constructed by a group of students from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and is made up of 24 wooden frames, with a tubular path offering a continuous 720-degree route to the top.

Arganzuela Footbridge

Spiral Architecture Arganzuela

A spiraling footbridge in Madrid’s Parque de la Arganzuela by Dominique Perrault Architecture links neighborhoods on the right and left banks of the Manzanares River, opening up in the center to allow access to a new urban green space. Built for both pedestrians and cyclists, the bridge is made up of two interlocking metal spirals ‘wrapped by a metallic ribbon.’

Mobius Buddhist Temple

Spiral Architecture Buddhist 2

Spiral Architecture buddhist 1

Based on a mobius strip, this Buddhist temple in Taichang, China integrates visual symbolism representing reincarnation with the basic design of the architecture interpreted as a path. Digital design and fabrication techniques enabled a building in which the entire shape is made up of two intertwined spirals, an ‘unstable’ configuration that places the beginning and ending of the worshipper’s path at the same point.

Mangal City Spiraling Skyscraper Pod

Spiral Architecture Mangal City

Envisioned as an ‘urban ecological system,’ Mangal City is a concept that explores spiraling towers made up of individual pods. taking its design cues from systems in nature, such as mangrove roots. Of the project, Chimera says “The mangrove plant and its collective the mangal, provide examples of social associative principles as well as structural capacities and hybrid responses to environmental and contextual conditions.”

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Spiral Architecture 12 Swirling Buildings Bridges

[ By Steph in Architecture & Offices & Commercial. ]

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Apostrophe-Shaped Bridge Doubles as a Ride for Pedestrians

23 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 1

Shaped like an apostrophe and bearing a shark-inspired fin, the Scale Lane Bridge in Hull, England allows pedestrians to go along for the ride when it swings open to allow ships passage. Made of black steel in a curving form, it resembles a ship when tucked up against the riverbank and viewed from afar.

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 2

The Scale Lane Bridge is believed to be the world’s first functioning bridge that enables pedestrians to stay on it while it opens and closes. Spanning the River Hull, the bridge cantilevers 35 meters (about 115 feet) to the east from its perch on the west bank.

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 3

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 4

The bridge provides a walkable route from a new public square and the Museums Quarter on the west bank to ‘The Deep,’ an aquarium that’s one of East Yorkshire’s biggest attractions. The spine of the bridge allows enough room for smaller boats to pass beneath it.

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 5

A viewing deck and seamless steel balustrade makes pedestrians feel like they’re on board a docked ocean liner, and offers a variety of seating areas. When the bridge opens, it activates a sequence of rhythmic bells combined with pulsing light to alert pedestrians to the imminent rotation and make the ride more exciting.

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Apostrophe-Shaped Bridge Doubles as a Ride for Pedestrians

10 Dec

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 1

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 2

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 3

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 4

Scale Lane Pedestrian Bridge 5

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Garden Bridge: Lush River-Spanning High Line for London

13 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

london platform park

A unique green retreat and pedestrian pathway is set to rival elevated parks around the world, including New York’s own High Line, right in the heart of London. This project stands out from its lofty peers in many regards, but most boldly: it is set over the River Thames rather than buildings or roads.

raised platform

green river bridge london

Heatherwick Studio, known for work in architecture, urban infrastructure, sculpture and design, is teaming up with landscape designer Dan Pearson and global engineering firm Arup to realize this massive and bold cross-disciplinary endeavor.

green bridge daytime flora

green park design concept

Crossing over 1,000 feet of river, the bridge will branch out into smaller spaces and seating areas and be populated with a wide range of regional flora. The complex plan will frame views of the city and provide opportunities for different kinds of performances and interactions.

green bridge lit up

green city vista view

green park platform london

The bridge is intended to bring a place of peace, quite and greenery back to the heart of the city as well as serving the role of pedestrian route. It will be both an activator of the two newly-joined neighborhoods and a stunning green landmark.

[ By WebUrbanist in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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Wild Water Crossings: 14 Bold & Crazy Bridge Concepts

14 Oct

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

Concept Bridge Designs Main

Even ordinary bridges are complex structures, but add in multiple levels, undulating ribbons of steel, elements that dip into the water or roads that split into scissor-like blades and you’ve got quite a dynamic feat of engineering. Some of those potential feats are a little more achievable than others. These 14 (more!) bridge concepts include a few innovative designs that are actually going to be built, while others have been deemed ‘too crazy’ to ever be real.

Entwined Ribbon Bridge for China

Concept Bridge Designs Ribbon China

The competition this concept was shortlisted for has been canceled, so it may never be achieved in physical form. Denton Corker Marshall architects designed this bridge for Jinsha Lake in Hangzhou, with one ribbon offering a flat surface for cyclists, one rising into the air to offer various views, and a third decorative ribbon winding between the first two.

Tulip Bridge for Amsterdam

Bridge Concept Designs Tulip

The ‘petals’ of this wooden bridge blossom and unfold in various configurations throughout the day, variously allowing pedestrians to cross the water or, if they so desire, jump in. Designed by MLBS Architects, the Tulip Bridge functions as a symbolic landmark for Amsterdam. When all of its petals are flat, it makes up a large plaza with plenty of room for the flow of pedestrians, but when all of the petals are raised (except for one that allows entry) it can turn into an exhibition space.

Bay Bridge Tourist Park

Concept Bridge Designs Bay 1

Concept Bridge Designs Bay 2

The September 2nd, 2013 opening of the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge made the old one obsolete: so what to do with it? Some have called for it to be broken up and made into housing, others want to see it converted into a public park. Architects Rael San Fratello have a few tongue-in-cheek designs taking these ideas into consideration. How about bike paths, combing walls, outdoor cinemas, hotel rooms and a giant swimming pool? Together, these ideas may be a little over the top, but they present a few intriguing possibilities.

Habitable Bridge for Seville, Spain

Concept Bridge Designs Habitable Seville 1

Concept Bridge Designs Habitable Seville 2

A sinuous bridge mimicking the waves of the river below it could act as a cultural center of Seville, Spain. This concept incorporates two layers – a sunny, grassy surface on top, and a shaded area with stepped seating closer to the water. The proposal also incorporates an existing tobacco factory, renovating it into an auditorium with a ground level piazza.

Parametric Cloud Bridge

Concept Bridge Design Parametric Cloud 1

This design doesn’t exactly conform to the general idea of what a bridge is, and should be. Unusual and unexpected, ‘Cloudbridge’ by Arturo Tedeschi architects creates a non-linear path between two points. The shape was determined by an algorithm that produces a cloud-shaped grid balancing the asymmetric loads of the footbridge.

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Wild Water Crossings 14 Innovative Bridge Concepts

[ By Steph in Architecture & Public & Institutional. ]

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360Photography

Posts Tagged ‘Bridge’

Cast-in-Place Steel: Robots to 3D-Print Metal Bridge in Holland

Table for Two: Window as Bridge & Barrier Between Shared Seat

London Bridge: 12 Contenders Including ‘Flaming Mouth of Hades’

Parasitic City: Micro-Metropolis Attaches Itself to a Bridge

Looking Sharp: Blade-Like Bridge Slices Through the Air