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Architects: Atelier XÜK
- Area: 650 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Chen Hao, Architectural Photograph, FangFang Tian
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Lead Architects: Kenan Liu, Xu Zhang
Text description provided by the architects. The project is an outdoor exhibit for the 2023 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, located under a vehicular bridge on the west bank of the Huangpu River in Xuhui District, Shanghai. The public space along the Huangpu River has always been important in Shanghai. It is regarded as a venue for gatherings and daily activities by the residents living around. All kinds of public activities are scattered throughout the riverside from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., such as exercising and various square dancing. The lowest net height of the space under the bridge is about 2.2 meters, which is not suitable to accommodate large activities. If people could be guided over the flood control wall, they could use the old bridge built in 1986 beside the Hongwen Paper Mill- to cross the Zhangjiatang River and back to the sidewalk of the Huangpu River. Compared to crossing the river by the overpass, the new way completes the pedestrian system on the ground. In addition, public activities can be led to the riverside of Zhangjiatanggang River. As an outdoor exhibit participated in the 2023 Shanghai Urban Space Art Season, both time and funding were limited. Combined with the existing space characteristics, we adopted a strategy of light intervention to guide people over the flood control wall and form a new way for public use.
Bridge, Crack, Wall. Late in the afternoon, the sunlight enters the space under the bridge and casts a slit of light on the ground, bringing vitality to the dark. It is a crack between the bridge and the flood control wall that allows sunlight to enter. This crack is formed by the spatial discrepancy of the elevated bridge structure and the flood control wall. Nearly parallel to the flood control wall, it is 4.2-meter-wide, 4.15-meter-high and 30-meter-long. According to the regulations, a 6-meter-wide flood control channel with no coverage should be kept on the west side of the flood control wall.
Passing the crack space vertically brings bad feelings: the bottom of the bridge structure and the flood control wall make people feel the space overhead gradually compressed. Although the absolute height ensures the safety of the pedestrians, it imposes a sense of psychological tension. Therefore, the design focuses on providing a better experience to pass the space under the bridge and providing support for the public activities on both sides of the wall. We hope to guide people naturally turning and climbing diagonally over the flood control wall in the process of approaching. In practice, this goal is achieved by setting up different focus points within 50 steps and 5 steps. People are guided to turn themselves by the direction of the steps and railings, and the height of the first step. The key of the design is to set the first step to align with the structure of the bridge box beam. We can easily perceive this 2-meter-high interface on a tactile scale rather than a visual scale. It helps to restrict and guide people coming from both directions. People tend to stop because of the potential risk of head-bumping even if the net height of 2 meters is enough to pass.
Dance Floor, Steps, Stage. A series of small and large steps were set to connect platforms of different heights and guide people over the flood control wall. In response to the existing atmosphere, we set the steps to stimulate relevant public activities: the steps become the audience area of the dance floor under the bridge and a stage on the other side of the flood control wall. On the east side of the crack, the overhead heavy concrete structure seems near at hand. The slightly concave bottom surface of the beam produces a good sound reflection.
Whenever people speak under, the cohesive space echoes. Not far from the bridge, people do square dancing and rehearse musical instruments. Therefore, we conceived a dance floor under the bridge with a series of steps as the audience area. LED lights were also added. When colorful lights are reflected by the concrete surface, there is a small fancy world under the bridge. On the west side of the crack is a vacant space owned by the government, and the former factory here has been completely demolished. Standing here looking back, the concrete structure of Zhangjiatang Bridge offers a clean background. To keep the flood control channel clear, we designed a 6-meter-wide stage of the same width. As a result, pedestrians on the bridge can stop to enjoy the performance on the stage at any time. Facing the stage, a small semi-circle stand was set, which served as a transition between the footpath and the bridge. Plain lighting was arranged on it. A curved steel rail, on which are wires of the lights, enhances the visual enclosure of the dance floor under the bridge. The structural strength of the rail is reserved to ensure that the rubber curtain can be hung on as wind protection when necessary. In addition, we designed how the lights flash, which could be adjusted on the site according to the tempo of the music.
Afterword. It has been more than two months since the project was completed, and people got used to climbing over the flood control wall to the pocket park designed by Pan Shan on the west. Elderly Saxophone practitioners often practice under bridge. As the weather turns cold, square dancers intend to take the space under the bridge as their venue. What is a little awkward is that the original cobblestone floor there is uneven. We have reported and actively coordinated with relevant departments to meet the specific needs of the users when we hear the news. Walking along the river to the stage, you can enjoy the wind, hear the insects, and even come across friendly dogs in the pocket park sometimes. Watching the cars and the couriers speeding over the concrete bridge across the empty stage, we seem to be bystanders. Nature permeates the infrastructure and merges with the artifacts. And the way people act seems to be the same as they are in nature.
The secondary industry has completely disappeared in the inner city of Shanghai. With the migration of manufacturing to the suburbs or beyond, Shanghai's urban space has become increasingly exquisite and gentrified, which makes the experience of the riverside so valuable. The experience also brings a sense of relaxation and freedom that is familiar, coarse, and specific. I believe it must be shaped by the wide river, the large-scale infrastructure, and the still wild nature. Meanwhile, with the development of surrounding residential plots, this area is bound to be more livable. Perhaps, the most fortunate thing is that we intervened and completed this place together with the natural and artificial objects on the site with the help of the Shanghai Urban Space Art Season in 2023. The experience of staying in the space near the bridge suggests a vanishing Shanghai——an invisible Shanghai that has completely disappeared in the material sense and is not well-known in popular culture.
