Tag Archives: china

Revolutionary Cross-Sea Tunnel & Bridge System In China Has Broken 10 World Records

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Last month China opened the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link – a newly built cross-sea tunnel and bridge system in the Guangdong Province, South China. The impressive architectural wonder broke 10 world records, although pretty specific ones! The Pearl River estuary is where the Pearl River joins the South China Sea, and this is one of the most densely populated places in the world. It includes Hong Kong, Macao, and nine other cities in Guangdong, and they are all separated by large water bodies, which is quite difficult to get around. And the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has been built to tackle this issue!

The link measures almost 15 miles and is designed to connect the two cities it is named after. Both cities are situated on opposite banks of the Pearl River Estuary. The link isn’t one whole bridge though, it includes an underwater tunnel in the middle, as well as bridges connecting every island to the city. It features eight lanes allowing speeds up to 100 km/h, and it reduces a two-hour drive to only thirty minutes. The link took seven years to construct, and now it finally opened to traffic on June 30.

The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link has set 10 new world records according to the China Global Television Network (CGTN) –

  1. Largest span for a fully offshore steel box girder suspension bridge (1,666 m/5,466 ft)
  2. Highest bridge deck (91 m/299 ft)
  3. Highest navigation clearance for a sea bridge
  4. Largest offshore suspension bridge anchor (344,000 m3 /12 million cubic ft of concrete)
  5. Highest wind resistance test speed for a suspension bridge (83.7 m/273.6 ft per second)
  6. Largest steel bridge deck with hot-mix epoxy asphalt paving (378,800 m2 /4 million sq ft)
  7. Longest two-way, eight-lane immersed tube tunnel (5,035 m/16,519 ft)
  8. Widest underwater steel shell-concrete immersed tube tunnel (up to 55.6 m/182.4 ft)
  9. Largest single-volume cast for a steel-shell immersed tube using self-compacting concrete (29,000 m3 /1 million cubic ft per tube section)
  10. Widest repeatedly foldable M-shaped water stop used in the final joint of an immersed tube tunnel (3 m/9.8 ft)

The tunnel section also has innovative safety features such as novel firefighting and smoke exhaust systems. Fourteen robots patrol the tunnel throughout and monitor the pipes and cables to ensure everything is working well. The team of robots also keeps a lookout for car accidents, and if one does occur, they direct traffic using built-in loudspeakers, while also filming the scene, and transmitting it to a remote control center.

The post Revolutionary Cross-Sea Tunnel & Bridge System In China Has Broken 10 World Records first appeared on Yanko Design.

This Technological Center In China Is A Man-Made Mountain With Terraces & Hanging Gardens

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Stefano Boeri Architetti, the designer of the acclaimed Vertical Forests was commissioned to build a new technology museum in Xi’an, China. This anticipated structure will serve as a tree-covered man-made mountain, allowing visitors to explore on the top, and immerse themselves in nature in the midst of a chaotic metropolis. Dubbed the Culture CBD Modern Technology Experience Center, the building features a unique hilly form that is inspired by the area’s topography, including the mountains, rivers, and the rugged valley.

Designer: Stefano Boeri Architetti

The building will have a curving concrete form amped with expansive glazing on the front-facing facade. The facade will be marked with horizontal slats for shading. The rooftop will feature a stepped exterior and include terraces and walkways, including loads of plants and trees. They will also contain different kinds of shrubs, as well as perennial herbs. Visitors can ascend to the top, and they will be welcomed by beautiful hanging gardens, as well as a massive viewing platform that offers serene views of the city.

“On the roof, the project includes a hanging garden in continuity with the park and a system of terraces that allows visitors to climb up to the building and gain a new look at the surrounding urban panorama,” said Stefano Boeri Architetti. “The green terraces accessible to citizens will be an integral part of the museum’s cultural program of events (the different areas will host screenings, activities, shows, and performances) – as well as offering citizens a new public outdoor space, with unprecedented views of the park and the city. ”

As you enter the museum, you will be greeted by four main exhibition spaces, as well as a temporary exhibition area, and multiple commercial zones. The various sections will be linked by a big double-height central atrium. The decor of the interiors will feature a vibrant and bright blue hue, which was selected on account of its significance and heavy usage in digital design and art. This is a popular choice in the world of digital design, and once you start looking out for it, you’ll find that it is quite widespread.

Currently, nature-inspired architecture in on the rise in China, and the cultural center will be another invaluable and wonderful addition. Although currently, we don’t know when it will be completed, the project is being headed by Stefano Boeri Architetti’s China-based satellite branch, instead of the main Italian studio.

The post This Technological Center In China Is A Man-Made Mountain With Terraces & Hanging Gardens first appeared on Yanko Design.

This McDonald’s in China Has Exercise Bike Dining Tables

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When it comes to healthy living, McDonald’s is one of the last places that comes to mind. I mean, did you ever see the movie Super Size Me? Well, at one McDonald’s location in China, you can work off a little of your high-fat and high-carb lunch while you eat. Yes, these unique tables have a workout bike built into them. Take a bite of your Big Mac, then pedal. Eat a french fry… pedal again. Peloton has nothing on this!

The TikTok video below shows one satisfied customer as she chows down on her burger and gulps down a Coke while she pedals. Surely she burned off at least five calories of the 500 she just ate, right?

@cris13yu

mc da China kkkk amei a ideia

♬ som original – cris13_u

Apparently, the exercise bicycles weren’t designed for fitness but instead are meant for wirelessly recharging gadgets while you eat – which makes a lot more sense for today’s tech-dependent society. The bikes are installed at the environmentally-friendly McDonald’s Jieyang Wanda Plaza restaurant, which opened last September.

[via Gizmodo Japan]

This exquisite aerial tower with 99 floating islands by Sou Fujimoto Architects visualizes our diverse future!

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In the Qianhaiwan district of Shenzhen, China, the winning architectural design for the city’s New City Center Landmark competition has been given to Sou Fujimoto Architects for their floating water tower. Slated for ascent in Qianhai Bay, the new tower will appear almost like a freestanding, cylindrical water fountain. Rising to 268-meters in height, Sou Fujimoto Arhcitects’s tower will feature 99 pillar-like support beams, or “islands,” to carry the tower’s upper horizontal structure. Starting from the bay and moving towards the round upper deck, the pillars of the new tower gradually expand in width and stature to close in on the design’s symbolic ode to “the future of society in the age of diversity.”

Finding the initial inspiration for the ‘99-island’ tower, Sou Fujimoto turned to iconic landmarks like the Eiffel Tower to develop their own urban monument for the modern age, asking, “What does a new ‘tower’ mean in the 21st Century? How can a tower evolve while continuing to attract attention, as the Eiffel Tower does? And [one] which would face towards the bay?” From afar, the new tower will appear as a single entity, a solid structure, slowly distinguishing itself as a collection of columnar pillars that gradually split upon closer viewing. The illusion of being one solid structure as well as an orchestra of different parts sheds a brighter light on Sou Fujimoto Architects’ initial concept of inhabiting a future during this burgeoning age of diversity.

The new tower’s uppermost plane serves as a viewing platform, doubling as a three-dimensional exhibition space with enough room for both a restaurant and cafe. In addition to the minimal structural support that the pillars provide for the round upper deck, a centralized core bolsters the tower, which is then stabilized with a steel truss system and Kevlar tension cables located around the outer edge of the tower’s base. Constructed primarily from steel, concrete, Kevlar Rope, and carbon fiber, Sou Fujimoto Architects’ design for the New City Center Landmark competition uses structurally sound and unadorned building material to realize a contemporary microcosm of our diverse, complex, and ever-evolving world.

Designer: Sou Fujimoto Architects

Appearing as if it’s suspended from mid-air, the plan for the new tower will feature 99 island-like pillars stemming from the round upper deck to the bay.

The upper deck works as an exhibition space.

From afar, the new tower looks like a freestanding, cylindrical water fountain.

The upper viewing area is meant to appeal to tourists and residents alike as a social hub where new views of the city can be accessed.

A centralized core supports the tower while a peripherally located steel truss system and additional Kevlar tension cables stabilize it.

Inside the tower, tourists can view the bay from below and rise to 268-meters above sea level.

A three-dimensional exhibition space gives tourists space to enjoy all the amenities the new tower has to offer.

OPPO’s new “O” headquarters by Bjarke Ingels show how architecture + typography are a perfect match

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In what could be an incredible branding move, OPPO’s new headquarter design will adorn the Hangzhou skyline with a massive O. Envisioned by Bjarke Ingels Group, the headquarters are described as an “infinity loop” shaped skyscraper that “connects [the] ground to sky in a continuous loop of collaboration”.

The larger-than-life O-Tower is representative of OPPO‘s status as China’s largest smartphone manufacturer. The upper and lower surfaces of the O remain flattened, creating what feels like a möbius strip that represents Oppo’s infinite potential and innovative spirit.

The O-Tower will be located in Hangzhou’s Future Sci-Tech City, within the Zhejiang province of China. Its purpose will be to primarily serve as an R&D building for the smartphone company while acting as an “iconic landmark and gateway” to the business district.

The O-Tower lights up after sundown, creating a magnificent letter-O in Hangzhou’s skyline at night. Not only does it serve as an iconic landmark within the city, but it also helps reinforce Oppo’s brand through the incredible architecture.

Meanwhile, the front and the top view look equally stunning in the day, creating a rather memorable piece of architecture that’s both iconic and awe-inspiring. The tower is expected to be built alongside a natural lake and a 10,000 square-meter park.

The O-Tower creates a pretty stunning entrance into the building as you walk right through the alphabet into a large circular courtyard populated with greenery. “The central oasis and the surrounding [Hangzhou] wetland park expands the public realm into the heart of the complex,” explained Bjarke Ingels, founder of the Denmark-based architecture studio BIG.

“The compact form folding in on itself provides large flexible floorplates with the daylight access and fresh air of a slender tower”, says Ingels. The O-Tower’s lower floors will contain exhibition spaces, conference areas, and a canteen, while the offices located on the floors above will be joined with a series of triple-height spaces under the sloping facade of the tower’s roof. On the outside, the building will be wrapped in an adaptive louvre facade, featuring slanted slats that almost look like the building has fingerprints. These facades, however, will play an important role in minimizing solar glare. “The adaptive louvered facade omits incoming solar glare and thermal heat gain, enhancing the passive performance of the building”, says Ingels, who’s studio BIG began working with the Chinese smartphone manufacturer at the beginning of 2019 to envision the R&D Building’s design and master plan.

Designer: Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) for OPPO

US plans ‘a mix of actions’ against Russia over SolarWinds cyberattack

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The US is preparing to retaliate against Russia after determining the country was probably involved in the SolarWinds cyberattack. Without providing specifics, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed to CNBC that the government will carry out...