Sinotech Engineering Consultants and German firm Leonhardt, Andra und Partner have won an international design competition to build the Tamkang Bridge (淡江大橋) over the Tamsui River (淡水河) in New Taipei City with a design by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Directorate-General of Highways said yesterday.
A 15-member review committee, including experts in engineering and local history, reviewed designs submitted by architecture firms from Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Denmark and the US and selected the winner on Wednesday.
The winning design features an asymmetrical cable-stayed bridge with a single pylon, the directorate said.
Photo courtesy of the Directorate-General of Highways
It was designed by famed Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid, who in 2004 became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize, which was established in 1979.
Some of her designs, known for pushing the boundaries of architecture and urban design, have proved controversial, such as for the one for the Tokyo Olympic Stadium for the 2020 Games.
The other teams in the competition had focused on double-pylon bridges, with a pylon on the west side that was likely to block the view of the sunset over the river, a major attraction for visitors and residents of Tamsui District (淡水), the directorate said.
Photo courtesy of the Directorate-General of Highways
Because the piers in the winning design would be on the east side of the river, the design would not only reduce the environmental impact on the Watziwei Nature Conservation Area (挖子尾自然保護區) in Bali District (八里) on the west side of the river, but it would allow visitors to see the sunset year-round between the pylon and the Guanyinshan (觀音山), the agency said.
Sinotech president Kung Chen-shan (龔誠山) said the winning design was inspired by a visit to Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s (雲門舞集) new home in Tamsui.
The 900m-long bridge is like a dancer jumping upward, while the pylon in the middle of the bridge are like the praying hands of the dancer, he said, adding that the lighting of the bridge was designed to reduce its impact on the boats and fish.
Photo courtesy of the Directorate-General of Highways
The cable-stayed portion of the bridge is to be 450m long, which would make it the world’s longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge and a New Taipei City landmark, the directorate said.
The bridge is to connect Tamsui and Bali, reducing travel distance between the two districts by 15km, with four traffic lanes, a pedestrian walkway, a bike lane and an 8m-width reserved for a light-rail system track.
It is scheduled to be completed by 2020.
The bridge will be Leonhardt, Andra und Partner’s first public infrastructure project in this nation.
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS