5 Most Most Amazing Bridges in The World.

From art deco concrete constructions to ultra modern futuristic designs, some of the bridges are examples of the world's finest architecture. Whether crossing the bays, spanning the gorges, or winding through the cities, the bridges are also examples of the world's most demanding engineering challenges.

See some of the most amazing bridges on the globe.

The Brooklyn Bridge 

New York. USA. 

An iconic part of the New York skyline, the Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest suspension bridges in the USA. Designed to span the East River, the bridge was completed in 1883 and until 1903 it was the longest suspension bridge in the world.

The Millau Viaduct

South of France

Only 37 m (121 ft) shorter than the Empire State Building in New York, the Millau Viaduct is the tallest bridge in the world. 343.0 m (1,125 ft) tall and 2,460 m (8,071 ft) long, this giant construction, spanning the valley of the river Tarn, is one of the most impressive road-bridges on the globe. It was opened to traffic in December 2004.

The Helix Bridge

Singapore

The Helix Bridge is an ultra modern double-helix structure that emerged in Singapore in April 2010. Besides its function of linking Marina Centre with Marina Bay in the city, the bridge also serves as a gallery and an observation platform, providing amazing views of Singapore.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge

Hangzhou Bay. China.

Connecting the municipalities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in China, the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, of 22 miles (35.6 km), is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world. This impressively long highway bridge was opened in May 2008. Thanks to the bridge's opening, the highway travel distance between Shanghai and Ningbo was reduced from 4 to 2.5 hours.

The Navajo Bridge

Arizona. USA.

For almost 600 miles (970 km), the Navajo Bridge is the only roadway crossing of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon apart from the Glen Canyon Bridge. The original bridge was completed in 1929. However, due to the heavy traffic, the local authorities decided to construct a new steel arch bridge that was opened in 1995.

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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Middle-East Pavilions

Most of the pavilions of the Middle East are from oil-rich countries, and cost was of no concern compared to putting up a good and impressive show. Saudi Arabia reputedly spent over 100 USD on their pavilion which is like a boat planted with date trees on top. Though most of them have money to burn, design-wise they are quite a mixed bag.

The mother of all the Middle-East pavilions has got to be the Saudi Arabia Pavilion. It is shaped like a boat, supposedly loaded with "dreams and friendship" as a gift for China. With date palms planted on the top deck, and floated on slender legs, the pavilion looks a bit surreal and looked like it had just sailed in from somewhere. It’s no wonder this is one of the most popular pavilions at the Expo. The record waiting time was about 9 hours! Forget about getting in unless you have World-class patience.


The next most expensive Middle-East Pavilion is probably The UAE (United Arab Emirates) Pavilion. Its shape is designed to evoke the sand dunes of the deserts. To me it looked more like a gigantic set of sensuous lips. Clad entirely in gold-coloured stainless steel, you can literally see where the money is spent. They even employed starchitect Forster & Partners from UK to design the pavilion.


The Arab's love of horses is evident here.


This is a rendering of the UAE Pavilion. You can't really see this view on Site. Don't you think they look like gigantic lips ?


The Israeli Pavilion looked like something Frank Gehry would have done, but based on my Google search it was actually designed by Israeli architect Haim Zotan. The Chinese have nicknamed this pavilion “The Seashell” and I can see why.


The Qatar Pavilion. Not much to talk about.


Even Iran and Pakistan are represented.

The Iran Pavilion.


The Pakistan Pavilion.

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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Asian Pavilions Part II

In Part II of my post on the Asian pavilions, we move closer to home. First up is Taiwan Pavilion. I am not sure what it represents - it looks like a slightly weird office building. On one side is a huge glass-covered structure which contains a globe-shaped LCD screen. I think the effect would be better at night.


The Singapore Pavilion looks like a huge metal drum with spikes sticking out from the sides. Again it is difficult to work out the concepts behind the design - as it bears no visual connection to Singapore, and the form doesn't seem to follow any particular function. Is it a a gun turret, or a missile silo for Dr. Strangelove ? Still it was quite dramatic to look at.


Finally we come to the Malaysia Pavilion. Frankly I was a bit disappointed. This was our moment to shine, and we could only trot out the tired old Minangkabau Roof. It looked more like a Tourism Malaysia project - and it probably was. The only saving grace was the beautiful batik painting on the roof - which were hand-painted by several batik artists from Malaysia. Better effort next time - Malaysia !


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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - The Asian Pavilions Part I

The Shanghai World Expo is more about design pyrotechnics then technological innovation. Most countries who are serious about their participation have pulled out all the stops to create show-stopping pavilions which look stunning from the outside.

Here I would like to share with you my pictures of some of the Asian pavilions.

India Pavilion. It has a beautiful planted dome. The planning and form is quite Classical - kind of like a temple.


The Nepal Pavilion. Quite intricate and exotic. The open dome-shaped structure in the middle is very interesting.


The Thai Pavilion. It looked just like a Thai Palace. Exotic dancers entertain the crowd while they wait to enter the pavilion.


Now for something completely different. The Japan Pavilion. The Aliens have landed ! The pavilion is covered in ETFE - a high-tech plastic. It is given a pinkish hue which makes the whole building look a bit organic. Looks like it came right out of the pages of an anime - strangely fitting for a Japan Pavilion.


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Shanghai World Expo 2010 - China Pavilion

The China Pavilion is the mothership of all the pavilions. It is the biggest, tallest and most expensive pavilion - and covered in eye-catching Imperial Red. You can't miss it as you enter the Expo site.

The pavilion has 3 main parts - a podium level clad in a huge aluminium screen, a roof garden above the podium, and the top section which is like an inverted pyramid. Actually the shape is taken from the eave detail of traditional Chinese temple and palace architecture - traditionally stacked wooden beams placed in a crisscross pattern to extend the depth of the roof eave. In this case - the design has been blown up a few thousand times to become the form of an entire building. I must say this is one of the more successful appropriation of a traditional form for a modern building. The resulting structure is quite dramatic and iconic.


The podium level covered in a huge aluminium screen.


The crowd waiting to enter the pavilion.


China Pavilion at night.


To get into the China Pavilion, you need to queue outside the Expo site at 5:00 a.m. to get one of the 60,000 passes given out everyday. Then you queue again to get into the Pavilion. The line is 4 hours long. I didn't have the patience to wait that long, so could only admire the pavilion from the outside.

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