Image courtesy of Penda
Penda’s bridge for 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
The San Shan Bridge designed by Beijing and Vienna-based architecture studio Penda spans across the Gui River and will be an integral part of the infrastructure program for the Olympic Winter Games 2022 in Beijing and connects the city center with Zhangjiakou, where all major outdoor competitions at the Beijing Olympics are being held. Right next to the San Shan Bridge is an area designated to the Beijing Horticultural Expo 2019. The english translation of “San Shan” is 3 Mountains and describes the form of the bridge seen from the side with its 3 arches connecting to its hilly backdrop.
Image courtesy of Penda
The formal inspiration for the San Shan Bridge is a conjunction of its undulating surrounding and the meaning of the Olympic symbol, which consists of five interlaced rings of equal dimensions. The main structure of the bridge is conceived as a series of rings, which connect at their highest and lowest points. The rings perform as a main structural element and suspend the bridge deck with steel cables in-between them. From its side, the bridge is seen as a sequence of mountains and valleys and is in an harmonious dialog with its neighbouring green hillsides, blurring the manmade structure with the natural surrounding. Seen from the top, the bridge connects the two shores of Gui River through a DNA string-like dual helix.
Image courtesy of Penda
The structure of San Shan Bridge connects the shores of Gui River through a 452 meter long bridge deck and is divided in three sets of cross-connected arch-like steel structures with a maximum span of 95 Meters. The sequence of arches form a prestressed doublehelix, which intersects and supports each other on their bottom and top. The helix is designed and engineered to be as slender as possible and positioned to offer the best structural performance. The bridge deck is suspended from the structure by high-strength steel-cables, that connect to the arches in a cross-weaving way.
more. home-of-penda.com
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