Hiriya Bridge, Ariel Sharon Park a Tel Aviv
Towards The Mountain: Proposal for Bridge Planning
Starting Points
A bridge, by definition, is an engineered structure that connects two points. The “connection” that the bridge creates, together with the possibility of passage above obstacles and restraints, imbues it with meaning beyond its technical function.
Crossing the bridge is a process of departure from one place and entrance into another. In the act of crossing certain states of mind develop, ones of wonder, fear, challenge, discovery, intensity.
These states of mind create excitement and stir up images related to the act of departure from one place to another.
The bridge becomes something that nourishes thoughts and imagination, creating an experience and constructing a world of images.
The proposed bridge intensifies the experience of departure from the corporeality of a place, and creates an attachment and dialogue between the passenger on the bridge, the physical structure of the bridge and the environment in which it is located.
PLANNING PRINCIPLES
Bridge Structure
Multiple concrete units build the flow of the bridge, reaching a length of about 160 m and a width of 7 m, allowing the bridge to have structural flexibility. The bridge units are composed of a system of open arches that rest on mushroom-like concrete columns. The bridge rests on a small number of columns spaced at irregular intervals, allowing the openings to correspond with the river’s flow paths.
A large space dedicated to plant nurseries and hidden infrastructure is planned for each bridge unit.
Materiality
Concrete molds in a rough texture lend the bridge rich aesthetic qualities.
Using innovative chemical formulas it is possible to achieve unusual tones in the concrete, giving the bridge warm earth tones.
The innovative concrete allows constructional strength and minimizes the need for cross-cutting across the concrete.
This concrete is extremely durable and long-lasting, and is relatively low-cost, both in execution and in maintenance.
Bridge Function
Large-scale plant nurseries are incorporated in the structure, allowing the planting of trees and other vegetation on the bridge itself.
The range of trees on the bridge includes wide-branching trees that are a continuation of the types of trees on the widening boulevard to route 461, as well as vertical-reaching trees (cypress trees) that are planned for the entrance way leading towards the hillside.
The tree planting is planned as mixed and random, expressing the range of trees at the entrance site, the trees on the river banks and the cypress trees lining the way up to the mountain.
Vegetated areas on the bridge offer shade solutions to those crossing and create restful nooks and lookout points.
The bridge is also designated for cyclists and emergency and maintenance vehicles. The bicycle trail will be separate from the pedestrian trail and the vehicle lane will be winding, thus necessitating a slow pace.
Bridge Appearance
The bridge and the vegetation emerging from it create a unique visual effect that converses with its surroundings. The trees planned for the floodplain at Ayalon river and the plant-life on the bridge create a vista that appears as a feat of engineering wrapped in vegetation.
The bridge’s mushroom-columns which mimic ancient tree-trunks, will integrate with the trees planned for the river banks.
The bridge columns’ “material quality” enhances the porous and layered nature of the concrete, and the bridge’s earth-tones create the sense that the whole structure has been excavated from the ground itself during the sites redesign process.
The bridge’s appearance triggers an image and memory of an ancient aqueduct that crosses the river and is swallowed by the hillside.