Design of a bridge over the Higashi-Kyushu
National Expressway in Takarabe-cho, Kagoshima prefecture. The bridge
used to be escorted by a massive concrete guard rail and an iron protection
grid for falling goods.The driver on the Expressway has been suddenly
interrupted in his view by the heavy volume over his head. With this design
it was requested to consider the driver's view. The demand was to create
a light and rhythmical impression and to avoid the feeling of oppression.
To soften the feeling of oppression physically and to get a see-through-impression,
the guard rail was designed in metal, while for the protection for falling
goods a frame-less acrylic panel was employed.
The view of a bridge from the distance is different from the view of a
bridge that suddenly appears in the driver's field of view during a journey.
Provided that the direction of view is always the direction of movement.
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In the case of a design for a bridge being
seen by passing by at high speed, it becomes necessary to consider shape,
length and depth, direction of flow etc., rather than to design minutely
for the thoroughly watching passersby.
Paying attention to this points, we made proposals that consider silhouette,
proportion, material, volume, shade, depth and length direction etc. as
design elements. The realized design is a point symmetrical slab that
looks asymmetrical in elevation.This design was made considering the changing
field of view of the driver while moving at high speed. Seeing something
from far away, approaching something to a certain level, and just the
moment of passing. The bridge has been finally designed by manipulating
the evolving shape and the relation of depth and length according to the
changing viewpoint. Design for express ways could be called design for
the speed space. |
