Fly-overs done differently

When I look at many of the larger east-Asian cities, I am perplexed by infrastructure. Fly-overs are obiquous, swirling and curling through the city, and twisting and turning above it, just occupying whatever space it's able to take within the city - whether it's on the ground, or in the sky above.


In many ways, the new walkways in Telok Blangah Hill Park reminds me a lot of those infrastructural fly-overs. The walkways are respectfully woven throughout the park above the level of the trees, reaching a height up to 40 metres above the forrest floor, creating a spectacular way for the visitors to observe the stunning natural beauty of the area.



However, what I cannot quite put my finger on is the formal language of the bridges. Some are excessively curvy and flowy, others have a demure high-tech appearance, it's really a mix of things. But on the other hand, it also really offers a broad range of experiences. For instance, the narrow bridge is actually so narrow that one has to walk single file, with views not blurred by crowds standing on the edge of the bridge, while other areas offer luscious viewing platforms.
All in all, the new system of bridges and walkways offers a completely new perspective on the park.

The piezo bridge

This is the Sakura bridge, in Tokyo. It's part of the Shuto expressway, which is running straight through the city. As everybody who lives near a busy road knows: loads of traffic creates a lot of noise, a lot of dirt and... a lot of vibrations. All of these things can be considered a nuisance. But in Tokyo the decided to turn things around, and use one of these nuisances for to create a beneficial situation. They made use of Piezo electricity. The principle is that certain materials (i.e. specific ceramics and chrystals) produce an electrical current when mechanical pressure is applied. And the vibrations of the traffic do just that: they produce a continuously changing mechanical pressure. This leads to electricity that is being produced. This way, the bridge supplies the energy that is needed for the illumination of the bridge.

I'm well aware that this is just taking the ineffectiveness of the combustion engine and create something worthwile with excess energy, but still it is a fascinating idea to begin with.

What to do with the railways?

It's a problem that many former industrial areas have to deal with. It's not just that the former factories have to be brought to a different use, but also the infrastructure that was used has become abandoned. What should be done with all that?

For instance in the Ruhrgebiet in Germany. The area was heavily dependant on coal and steel industry for decades. Most of the different factories and mining plants were shut down because production was simply not economicly sound anymore. Of course, this left an economic crisis to the area, that suffers from high unemployment. It also leads to urbanistic problems: massive sites need to be redeveloped or reprogrammed. But it's also infrastructural: coal, cokes, iron, steel and everything was transported by rail through the area and away from it. The tracks formed a web of dissections in the urban tissue of the densely populated area of the Ruhrgebiet.

Then, at a certain point in time, somebody had a smart idea: let's re-use those railtracks! Former industrial infrastructure graduately became (and becomes) recreational infrastructure. In place of the former railways, bicycle and pedestrian routes have been established, making place for recreational routes in an area that has otherwise trouble creating just those routes. Two problems - one solution for the both.

So right now, there are several routes crossing the Ruhr area, connecting the different sites of industrial heritage. For a map of the possible routes you can check the site of the route industriekultur. Personally, I'm pretty impressed with the structural solutions this brings. And, more importantly, it's great to ride these routes and see the different sites. For instance: the Erzbahn. It starts in Bochum, at the Jahrhunderthalle (the industrial steel-manufacturing hall that's transformed into an event space. And it runs straight through Bochum, to Herne and Gelsenkirchen, to end in Herten. Along the route there are several industrial monuments, such as Zeche Pluto, the Glückauf-Siedlung or the Malakow-tower, for instance. Other than that, the Erzbahn, which is several metres lifted from the ground, offers a great view of the cities and the landscape. Also, the former railway-bridges offer a special thrill, like the Pfeilerbrücke: a 45 metres high, 340 metres spanning bridge. In other places, new bridges have been constructed to connect "missing links" in the system. The entire trajectory gives the pedestrian or cyclist a whole new perspective on the area.

Rolling Bridge - Heatherwick Studio

Is it a bridge?
Is it architecture?
Is it a gadget?
Is it product design?

It's all that, and a whole lot more: it's the rolling bridge by Heatherwick Studio. Instead of a traditional (rigid) opening mechanism, this bridge gets out of the way of passing ships by curling up until both ends meet. If it's extended, it looks like a normal, 12 metres long bridge. When curled up it looks nothing like a bridge, but more like a curled up ball of steel and timber. I think the studio managed to really steer away from all the conventions about bridges.

Make sure to check out the website of Heatherwick Studio.