Abstract

Good bridge designers strive to balance their desire to build structures that serve their community, blend with the surrounding environment and are attractive to users, with financial and other project constraints. For long span bridges, commonly adopted types achieve good aesthetics just through the expression of a suitable, effective structural form. More than a century of achievements and advancements in the design of suspension, cable-stayed bridges, tied arches, trusses and other types of long span bridges do offer an array of possible solutions that, if developed with the right sensitivity and good attention to details, can bring lasting aesthetic value to the built environment. Although a “Form follows Function” approach does not always translate into good bridge aesthetics, that approach can be more challenging for short and medium span bridges, for which utilitarian structural schemes are more commonly adopted. The development of conceptual studies, good structural design and attention to detailing can achieve aesthetic results for these bridge types while meeting project financial constraints through a strong partnership with owners and the right attention to the needs of the community and the surrounding environment. The Vitruvius concept from “De Architectura” of 2050 years ago—a structure must exhibit the three qualities of firmitas, utilitas, venustas—still provides a good framework to develop simple criteria and aesthetics guidelines for bridge designers. This paper presents a range of examples, from concept studies to built projects, to highlight current challenges and possible accomplishments in the aesthetic design of highway and pedestrian bridges of short and medium span. The projects presented in this paper aim to highlight the challenges faced by designers when looking for possible solutions rather than to provide guidelines or describe accomplishments. The projects are all located in the United States and directly involved the author as part of the design.

摘要

优秀的桥梁设计师努力平衡他们建造为社区服务、与周围环境融为一体、对用户有吸引力的结构的愿望，以及财务和其他项目限制。对于大跨度桥梁，通常采用的类型只是通过表达合适的、有效的结构形式来实现良好的美感。在悬索桥、斜拉桥、系杆拱、桁架和其他类型的大跨度桥梁设计方面，一个多世纪的成就和进步确实提供了一系列可能的解决方案，如果以正确的敏感性和对细节的良好关注来开发这些解决方案，可以为建筑环境带来持久的审美价值。尽管“形式追随功能”的方法并不总能转化为良好的桥梁美学，对于更普遍采用实用结构方案的中短桥而言，这种方法可能更具挑战性。概念研究的发展、良好的结构设计和对细节的关注可以为这些桥梁类型实现美学效果，同时通过与业主的紧密合作以及对社区和周围环境需求的正确关注来满足项目的财务限制。2050年前《De Architectura》中的维特鲁威概念—— 良好的结构设计和对细节的关注可以为这些类型的桥梁实现美学效果，同时通过与业主的紧密合作以及对社区和周围环境需求的正确关注来满足项目的财务限制。2050年前《De Architectura》中的维特鲁威概念—— 良好的结构设计和对细节的关注可以为这些类型的桥梁实现美学效果，同时通过与业主的紧密合作以及对社区和周围环境需求的正确关注来满足项目的财务限制。2050年前《De Architectura》中的维特鲁威概念——一个结构必须表现出firmitas、utilitas、venustas的三个品质——仍然为桥梁设计师制定简单的标准和美学准则提供了一个很好的框架。本文提供了一系列示例，从概念研究到已建成项目，以突出当前在公路和中短跨度人行天桥美学设计方面的挑战和可能取得的成就。本文中提出的项目旨在突出设计师在寻找可能的解决方案时面临的挑战，而不是提供指导方针或描述成就。这些项目都位于美国，作为设计的一部分，作者直接参与其中。