Pearl River Necklace / NL Architects

Jun 2010

By Karen Cilento — Filed under: Architecture News ,Featured ,Infrastructure , NL Architects

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Hong Kong Boundaries Crossing Facilities

Dutch NL Architects’ newest bridge is part of their proposal to connect Hong Kong with the mainland of China. The bridge’s dynamic twisted form is a great resolution to the differences in driving styles, namely that in Hong Kong, people drive on the left side of the road and in the mainland China, they drive on the right side.

More images and more about the bridge after the break.

Hong Kong Boundaries Crossing Facilities

To address the changes in driving, the architects have designed the road flipper – a device designed to ‘celebrate’ the traffic switch. It aims to redirect traffic in an efficient and safe way by physically twisting the roads.

Bisecting the Bridge

In addition to the bridge, NL Architects have proposed to make some adjustments to the master plan to improve the area. The ‘necklace’ is formed by an archipelago of artificial islands along the border of Hong Kong and China.

Overview of Islands

Where the two sections meet

Plan of Pearl Necklace Islands

As seen on designboom.

Cite:
Cilento , Karen . "Pearl River Necklace / NL Architects" 15 Jun 2010. ArchDaily. Accessed 25 May 2012. <http://www.archdaily.com/64354>

Comments (20)
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VladUshall says:

очень круто,но в плане БДД опасно..

# June 15, 2010 at 18:11

dont speak english too says:

да и в плане стоимости работ – тоже не рационально

# March 27, 2011 at 16:08

Thiefsie says:

Was the reference to pearl necklace really that necessary?

Simply elegant and clever otherwise.

# June 15, 2010 at 21:44

architist says:

Maybe the architect didn’t take into account of sea rise!.

# June 15, 2010 at 22:48

Nicholas Patten says:

Pearl River Necklace. http://bit.ly/9ZsR4J

# June 16, 2010 at 02:31

WPstudios says:

RT @nicholaspatten Pearl River Necklace. http://bit.ly/9ZsR4J

# June 16, 2010 at 02:32

lot says:

It looks a little bit scarry for me. And street lamps are leaning in funny way…

# June 16, 2010 at 04:24

mahdi jj says:

دریای این معمار طوفان نداره؟

# June 16, 2010 at 08:10

Usama bin Laden says:

wise remark!

# March 27, 2011 at 16:20

wai says:

practical at the same time, elegant

# June 16, 2010 at 09:39

natasha says:

wow.. it is awesome!

# June 17, 2010 at 00:22

Darius_bd says:

.
Practical? Elegant? that thing is a killing machine, so many curves it’s downright suicidal. Is that easy to forget why we do things like we do and to think is just “boring”? Functionality ppl!

# June 17, 2010 at 00:29

yeah says:

Exactly…
Car bridges ought to be straight. Why you ask?
Because it has been proven over and over again that if you drive on a bridge you behave differently than on a regular road.

Think about it – you are put in a situation where you feel like you could drive into a chasm (even if it’s not true) if you make a mistake. There are also other people driving next to you and you have a feeling like there’s nowhere to escape to. This causes temporary claustrophobia, sweaty hands etc.

One curve is already a risk…TWO CURVES???…WITH A SLOPE???…Death bridge in the making.

But I guess it looked cool from bird’s view.

# June 17, 2010 at 02:59

mehdi says:

i dont know what a flood do with this bridge

# June 17, 2010 at 07:03

i dont know what a flood do with this birdge>>>>>>

# June 17, 2010 at 07:05

Damian says:

Apart from appear insecure, if they realize the lanes are reversed. Nothing functional in this bridge.

# June 17, 2010 at 10:19

-1

yo says:

they are supposed to be reversed, that’s the whole point.

# June 24, 2010 at 08:58

LLH says:

A straight road wouldn’t claim drivers attention to the fact that they’ll switch to driving in the other side of the road…
And maybe you just pay more attention to the road than on a straight one where people crash because they are busy looking at the view..

Pretty good idea NL

# June 25, 2010 at 20:11

Al says: