31 January 2011

Jinsha footbridge design competition

I will join a number of other websites who seem to parrot each others' news by reporting the shortlist for a new pedestrian bridge design competition in China. This one is for a 400m long structure at Jinsha Lake in Hangzhou, and the invited designers are:
  • Denton Corker Marshall
  • Grimshaw
  • Marc Mimram with Tianjin Urban Planning & Design Institute
  • Petroff Partnership Architects
  • Wilkinson Eyre
  • Zaha Hadid
That's all I know, so if anyone can point me towards more information, that would be appreciated.
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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2011 at 12:50 PM

    Are those all the names they could come up with! Seriously?!
    Why is Zaha Hadid invited in a competition that requires actual expertise in bridge design?

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Happy PontistFebruary 2, 2011 at 5:23 PM

    I believe the project is part of a much wider development with various artificial lakes etc, although it was tough trying to find out much about it. "Round up the usual suspects" is often the cry when developers want a recognisable name to attach to what they are building. How else are they to select anyone if bridge design is not an area they know anything about?

    Mimram at least has a track record of previous work in China, and I'm sure there are several on the list capable of designing a fine bridge.

    I recall seeing a Hadid design for a bridge once (unpublished, I think) which nearly made me vomit my own larynx in astonishment, it was so ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousFebruary 2, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    The Expo Zaragoza Pavilion Bridge was a Zaha design in collaboration with Arup during scheme and final design by Fhecor in Spain (http://www.flickr.com/photos/one2one/2832734222/in/photostream/)

    Although it's more like a building over water, or a spaceship landed on the river, (and it may cause revolt in people's guts) it is a prior example of at least knowing the challenges involved.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kirsten TrengoveJuly 27, 2011 at 5:43 AM

    Hi, I'm the communications manager at Denton Corker Marshall, architecture + urban design.

    Our practice has worked in China and Southeast Asia for three decades, with our first building – the Australian Embassy in Beijing –starting in 1980.

    We're pretty excellent designers of landmark infrastructure - Melbourne's Webb Bridge, Bolte Bridge and Melbourne Gateway are relevant examples. You should check out our work.

    http://www.dentoncorkermarshall.com
    And an update on the bridge competition, there were four teams shortlisted:

    Denton Corker Marshall, Zaha Hadid, Grimshaw and PPA

    but the competition organisers chose none of our concepts. The competition is dead in the water, so to speak.

    ReplyDelete