Architecture

Bridges Can Sail

It is not an illustration for a new sci-fi blockbuster. This is a new project of mobile pedestrian bridge commissioned by Ordos government in the Kanbashi District of the Inner Mongolia (China) to be built across the Wulamulum River.
22 October, 2018
The author of this architectural and engineering "miracle" is the famous architect Margot Krasojevic. Her architectural designs are undeniably experimental and push the boundaries of feasibility, but with engineering technology rapidly evolving, they are increasingly realizable. The bridge will be built across the river and, thanks to its unusual design, will be able to fold, transform itself into a compact "ship", move to a new location and unfold again in a full bridge.
The name of the project is "Revolving Sail Bridge". This construction is a great example of transforming structures. A similar concept features a transforming home, capable of changing shape depending on the weather. Structures like these help to make the future more efficient and green. In order to move, the bridge is designed to fold into sections that stack into each other. Movement is controlled by the sails, made from an aluminum frame and clad in a reinforced carbon-fibre polymer. To revolve the sails, the bridge uses a series of hydraulically-operated tanks that empty and fill with water, rotating the sail from horizontal to vertical while keeping afloat.
Image: ArchDaily
A number of various mechanisms ensure the bridge's stability. The structure is made from a primary ring frame that has eight marine floatation air bags to stabilize the sails while they rotate, and is weight-distributed evenly to prevent capsizing. Like a ship, the bridge can be moored along the quayside, and permanently positioned using floating Caisson foundations that sink into position. Screw-in moorings paired with nine-ton anchors ensure the bridge will not float away and keep the structure stable while it is "docked."

Image: ArchDaily
For pedestrians, the bridge provides three retractable hydraulic tracks that "snap" onto the shore berths for stability. Thus, the length of the footpaths can be adjusted in accordance with the location of the bridge-ship. Depending on the peculiarities of the city holidays, festivals and concerts, the bridge can quickly provide a crossing over the river, access to the river Islands and other new locations. When being a bridge, the sail is lowered and operates as a canopy from the sun and rain over the pedestrian area.

"Renewable energy and how to optimize the collaboration between program, typology, and architecture have always been at the forefront of the studio's research and design approach ", says Margot Krasojevic. Therefore, in this project of the bridge-ship, the hydraulic chamber that controls the movements of the bridge is powered by photovoltaic cells, and solar panels provide energy for three electric motor generators.
Image: ArchDaily
The place of implementation of this amazing project was not chosen by chance, as Ordos is a Chinese "city of the future". Not everything so far turns out "smoothly" – a metropolis designed for a million inhabitants has so far attracted only about 100 thousand people wishing to settle there. Nevertheless, the Chinese government intends to implement its plans to significantly increase the urban population by 2020.
Banner image: ArchDaily