Architecture

Chinese bridge knots together multiple landing points

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The Lucky Knot bridge is 185 m (607 ft) long, spanning roads, footpaths and a river
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge is 185 m (607 ft) long, spanning roads, footpaths and a river
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge comprises three undulating, intertwined steel walkways
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge rises up to 24 m (79 ft) high
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge can be accessed at a number of different points where its walkways touch the ground
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge was inspired by the continuously flowing Mobius ring and Chinese knotting art
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
Visitors can move between the different strands of the Lucky Knot bridge
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge crosses the Dragon King Harbour River in the New Lake District of Changsha, China
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
The Lucky Knot bridge is designed to be a spectacle
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo
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While bridges typically get people from A to B, the recently-opened Lucky Knot bridge over the Dragon King Harbour River in the New Lake District of Changsha, China, draws more heavily on the alphabet. It comprises three undulating, intertwined steel walkways with access at each of the points where they land.

The pedestrian bridge is 185 m (607 ft) long, spanning roads, footpaths and a river. Its intertwined and interconnected threads, which rise up to 24 m (79 ft) high, touch down at different points – including on the river banks, next to a road and in a park – joining, or "knotting," these places together.

NEXT Architects, which designed the bridge, aimed in part for it to be a new public space and attraction for what is a developing area. Its was inspired by the continuously flowing Mobius ring and by Chinese knotting art. Further to informing the style and structure of the bridge, the knot also symbolizes luck and prosperity.

"The Lucky Knot is more than a bridge and a connection between two river banks," explains Beijing partner at NEXT architects Jiang Xiaofei. "Its success lays in bringing cultures together, and in the fusion of history, technology, art, innovation, architecture and spectacle."

The Lucky Knot bridge was inspired by the continuously flowing Mobius ring and Chinese knotting art
NEXT Architects / Julien Lanoo

Walking across the bridge, people can take in views of the Dragon King Harbour River, the Meixi Lake, Changsha and the nearby mountains. It will also boast an LED lightshow that will help to position the bridge as an attraction.

The Lucky Knot bridge was designed collaboratively by the Chinese and Dutch arms of NEXT Architects, with the Dutch providing expertise in infrastructure and water management, and the Chinese knowledge of the local area. NEXT was awarded the contract by Changsha Meixi Lake Industrial Co. after taking part in an international design competition.

The Lucky Knot bridge opened last month.

Source: NEXT Architects

View gallery - 8 images
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4 comments
McDesign
This is the kind of stuff we (the US) used to do. What happened?
Helios
@McDesign, because Wall Street, Big Pharma, and the Military Industrial Complex don't build bridges or any other project that might be described as civic architecture. Further, it's too easy scaring the conservative segment of the US into spending tax dollars on wars and red herring issues like immigration.
KurtRihs
It is not such a "Lucky Knot Bridge" if you have some disabilities; particularly if you are in a wheel chair. In typical Chinese fashion, people in wheel chairs are not welcome in public places and even the most modern cities in China are not disability-friendly. People who can't walk up and down stairs are condemned to stay at home. Even most government offices and other service organizations (i.e post office) are not readily accessible for people with restricted movement, particularly people in wheel chairs. You just don't see them out and about in any Chinese cities.
Rustin Lee Haase
@McDesign - The ADA (American Dental Association) shut down this kind of stuff in the USA. Too many kids were falling down the stairs and breaking out their teeth. :-)