In Jiangmen, Gulou Waterfront is an eco-cultural tourism resort developed by OCT that combines rural development with the cultural background of local villages, preserving the important local water system while integrating nature education, recreation, fishing, and husbandry activities. The activities of the resort required the construction of several bridges to facilitate the movement of people and fishing boats.
One of the many bridges at Gulou Waterfront Resort, this timber bridge by LUO studio enables boats of various sizes to smoothly pass beneath. Following structural calculations and construction analysis, LUO studio utilized 3 large, curving beams as the main structural components, which are arranged in a parallel manner with 2.8-meter spacing. Taking manufacturing and transportation costs into consideration, each beam was divided into three sections, then connected and assembled by steel-strengthened bolts on-site to form the complete wood beam.
Physically, the bridge connects a dense traditional commercial street with a children’s recreation area and its design accentuates a transition from a ‘practical’ commercial street area to a ‘dreamy’ children’s recreation area. The designers created relatively ‘closed’ corridor spaces on the bridge which differ from other open landscape bridges in the resort.
Drawing from traditional bridges of the region and the construction wisdom of ancient, enclosed bridges, a covered corridor enhances the overall structural stability of the bridge and protects the arched wooden structure from exposure to sun and rain.
To ensure the structural stability of the covered corridor space, the design team set horizontal connecting rods in the middle section and added two viewing platforms on either side, which also avoid the monotonous feeling when viewing the corridor space from the entrance and exit.
