Towards a landscape-approach bridge design: Philosophy and practice

Bridge building is a media to conquer the constraint of land form and climate conditions as well as a human response to the urgent need of land development and the increased demand of land use. The scale and scope of bridges affect both landscape and spatial coherence. When put into context of its surrounding area, the visual impact of a bridge to its environment should not be underestimated. In the past, however, the goal of bridge construction was primarily utilitarian: meeting the requirements of technical engineering, structural integrity and economic benefits, while ignoring the role that a bridge should play as another scenic role in the overall landscape. A functional and artistic bridge design complements the surrounding environment and celebrates the power and beauty of the structure; it becomes a valuable asset, benefitting and enhancing local community and distinctiveness. This study collected and analyzed the conditions of integration with the surroundings of different types of bridge structures, evaluated the relationship between existing bridge facilities and adjacent areas, and established a foundation for the environmental aesthetics of a bridge landscape. These proposed evaluation methods and procedures for high quality designs of environmental and aesthetic value will serve as planning principles and guidelines for bridge design that easily merge into and become part of integrated landscape.