That's Singapore's trippy Helix Bridge, designed by Australia-based Cox Architecture & Design after they beat out 35 other entrants in a design competition sponsored by the city-state. Constructed as the final link in a walkway surrounding Singapore's Marina Bay, the bridge also doubles as an outdoor gallery for local children's drawings and paintings. (Beats being stuck to the front of the 'fridge, sharing magnet space with takeout menus.)
As Cox A&D explains,
The plan concept was to curve the bridge in an arc so that it arrives fluidly into foreshore promenades on each side. It also enabled the bridge to connect in its centre to an adjacent vehicular bridge's footpath while shifting away from it beyond this point of junction.
Seeking a delicate, lightweight contrast to the vehicular bridge, the concept evolved of a double helix structure. This form enabled the canopy, required by the brief, to be integrated as segmented panels of glass and perforated steel, unlike other bridge structures. The structural typology also proved highly effective in working to a curvilinear plan, and in generating an intriguing sense of movement flow along the journey.
The Helix Bridge is illuminated at night by ribbons of LED lighting accentuating the interplay of the two helix tubes and their intervening, connecting ties. Four ovular-shaped 'pods' cantilever out from the structure enabling people to gain wider appreciation of the bridge form and providing gathering space for viewing bay events.
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