Recently, an international competition was held to design the a new bridge on the Tamsui bridge, in Taipei, Taiwan. Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) have won the competition by designing the Danjiang Bridge which would be the world’s longest single tower asymmetric bridge that would be cable supported.
A view of the drawings released show us some unique features of this bridge. Once the bridge is complete it would have a total length of 920m. The highway would be 175 on the east side of the the tower and 450 meter to the west side of the tower. It is expected that the bridge would not only provide access to the port pf Taipei but also improve the condition of traffic jams on the roads.
The purpose of designing the bridge as asymmetric with single tower serves two purposes: first the boats navigating below would not be hindered by the structure of the tower, secondly, the view of the sunsets would not be hindered by the bridge as the Taipei port is a popular tourist destination. Taipei boasts some of the most beautiful sunset views.
According to a statement released by the ZHA, the mast of the tower has been designed to be slender, and its position ensures that it has the optimal performance to support the structure. This would not impede the maritime traffic in the river, secondly there would be no interference to the viewers who want to see the sunset from the river bank. An added advantage of the slim design is that it would cause minimum disturbance to the ecosystem.
Other partners of ZHA in this unique project include Andrä & Partner, Leonhardt, and Sinotech Engineering Consultants. However, no other details have been revealed as to how much time and budget would be required to complete this visionary project.