Core77
e
The Slauerhoffbrug "Flying Drawbridge" and Other Impressive Dutch Overpasses
By Sam Dunne - Jan 01, 2015
From mega-dams to cutting edge architecture, the Dutch seem to consistently pull off some pretty impressive infrastructure innovations—often characterised by characterful creative solutions to age old built environment challenges.
Enter a caption (optional)One such delight, is the Slauerhoffbrug—a fully automatic bascule bridge (aka tail bridge) in the city of Leeuwarden. Referred to by bridge fan-boys as a "Flying Drawbridge", the Slauerhoff lifts what is essentially a section of the road into the air to make room for passing water traffic. By doing away with the hinged mechanism of typical two-part raising tail bridges, this impressive piece of engineering can raise and lower much quicker than its traditional counterparts, allowing for minimum disruption to traffic on river or road.
Of course the Slauerhoffbrug is not the only triumph of dutch overpasses—if you're looking for more bridgey inspiration make sure to check out the trippy Knardijk Aquaduct (below top) or the equally mindbending Moses Bridge (below bottom) these days looking much greener than back when we first reported on it.
Sam Dunne
Sam Dunne is a designer, strategist and writer based in London. Sam is founder of design strategy agency Cohere and Contributing Editor at Core77—reporting broadly on design, technology, food and object culture.
Comments
Continued Reading
-
By Rain Noe - Dec 09, 2014
Watch Barry Berkus' "How to Think Like an Architect" Videos
A lot of modern-day architecture discussions can be confusing, alienating and overly academic. That's why I was drawn right away to Barry Berkus' "How to Think Like an Architect" video series, because he speaks and thinks in such a sensible, pragmatic and accessible manner:Now to the industrial designers among you:...
-
By Rain Noe - Dec 03, 2014
Elevator Lines in the Future Will Look Less Like Shafts and More Like Pac-Man
The brilliance of the paternoster system shown below is that it's always moving, conveyor-belt-style. Assuming a manageable flow of bodies, the "feed rate" could be continuous.The modus operandi of a paternoster points to a very basic limitation with elevators that most people don't consider: With the latter, you can only...
-
By Rain Noe - Nov 26, 2014
Unusual Apertures in This Industrial Designer/Mechanical Engineer Couple's House
Flipping through architecture blogs, I'm used to seeing modernist houses with the de rigueur Le Corbusier chaise longue and the Eames chairs inside. But this particular one jumped out at me because it's owned by an industrial designer married to a mechanical engineer. San-Francisco-based ID'er Peter Russell-Clarke and mech-eng wife
-
By Sam Dunne - Nov 19, 2014
Jellyfish Barge: StudioMobile's Masterpiece of Waterborne Self-Sufficiency
Architects Antonio Girardi and Cristiana Favretto of StudioMobile in Treviso, Italy, have created what has been dubbed a "floating agricultural greenhouse" that produces food, almost miraculously, without consuming land, fresh water or energy.Built with simple technologies and with low cost and recycled materials, the "Jellyfish Barge" has been conceived for...
K
{Welcome
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
K
Reset Password
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.
