The 50 meter wide river is connected with a bent path that responds to different access conditions and visually adapts to the surroundings. Historical references and other variables of the site, together with the objective of revealing the structural performance of the bridge, have formulated the final form of the bridge that connects the town of ZhuJiaJiao, with the gardens in Suzhou.
The load-span relation recommends the use of the metal truss. In order to resist the strong torsion stress associated with the support-less winding shape of the bridge, all sides of its distorted volume are structurally activated.
The contrasting character of the two shores is emphasized by designing asymmetric constraints for the structure. The bridge has a simple support on the transversal ramp that faces the rapid and narrow street at the northern access.
There is a stiff connection with the longitudinal ramp that connects to the slow and large southern square. The elevation of the bridge adapts itself to the resulting asymmetric diagram of bending momentum. The bridge pattern gets denser according to the diagram of shear stress, which minimizes the amount of different steel sections.
The faces of both the roof and deck of the bridge are covered with wooden skins. The contrast with the exposed steel profiles makes the structure appear lighter. Furthermore, the sloped ceiling serves as a large reflector for the artificial lighting that is embedded into the handrails. During the day, the inner surfaces trap reflections of the sun on the water.
