As part of the country’s urbanisation scene, China’s infrastructure construction leads to myriad consequences that significantly impact not only the economic conditions of the respective locality, but also its existing social matrices. One example, highway infrastructure, undoubtedly brings to remote areas increased accessibility and new employment opportunities. Yet at the same time, this top-down planning approach often overlooks the specific needs of the local area. Construction of a new highway in southern Shaanxi Province required the destruction of hundreds of local bridges. This project involves the design of a pedestrian bridge in Lingzidi Village to service the disrupted network.
The design of the bridge is a singular loop linking two levels of the riverbank and an additional arm connecting across the river. This produces a wide, direct path for small trucks and motorcycles and a pedestrian path that cuts under the bridge, allowing for access to the river for needs such as washing, cleaning, and fishing. Steps and shaded areas provide spaces for seating and relaxation. The river has long been an obstacle between the village settlement and the agricultural production farm. With the construction of this bridge, villagers are once again able to commute freely across the river, meeting at the bridge for trade and commerce.
Despite its small scale, this bridge is a critical link for the local village economy, emerging as a social hub and mitigating some of the many uprooting effects of large-scaled infrastructure construction. It encourages villagers to maintain and improve their local economy rather than rely on sources sent back from younger generations working in factory towns. Through its dyed cast-concrete, the bridge visually distinguishes itself form the adjacent, lighter grey highway viaduct, referencing subtly at the disparities between micro and macro approaches.
