LUO Studio completes intricate wooden bridge in Chinese water village

Hundreds of wooden elements are bolted together to form Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront, the latest project by Chinese architecture office LUO Studio.

The 25-metre-long bridge is located in Gulou, a water village in Jiangmen, China. This unusual manmade landscape, formed of a network of waterways and ponds, once provided an infrastructure for fishing and farming.

The bridge is arched to allow room for boats to pass underneath

With the area now being rebranded as an eco-tourism resort, Gulou Waterfront, LUO Studio was tasked with creating a new pedestrian bridge in the heart of it.

The Beijing-based studio chose to predominantly use wood, paying tribute to the traditional construction techniques employed in rural villages of southern China where the material is in plentiful supply.

Its structure is made from simple wooden lengths

It was essential for the bridge to allow enough room for boats to pass underneath. This led to the design of an arch shape, with four metres clearance between the underside of the bridge and the typical water level.

"During the fishing civilisation period, roads were poorly developed, so water systems became the key route for transportation and logistics," said the studio, which is led by architect Luo Yujie.

"Since bridges need to be walkable while also ensuring more space for boats underneath to pass through, traditional bridge construction techniques in China adopted arches to create space for the passage of boats under bridges, and enhance the effectiveness of the structure."

Metal panels provide integrated rainwater drainage

Despite the shape of the bridge, very few of its components are curved. Apart from the three arched beams that form the underside, the structure is almost entirely made from small, regular lengths of pine.

"Small wooden components are interlocked and anchored to the three main arched beams, functioning as sub-beams on upper and lower levels," said LUO Studio.

"In addition, the two ends of these sub-beams are combined with upward components to form a stable triangle of forces."

The bridge span is 25 metres

Metal plates are slotted into the wooden framework, which create shelter and provide natural rainwater drainage.

The result is a structure with an intricate structure. Not only does it provide a walkway across the water, but also provides shelter to those crossing.

Wide staircases create an inviting route for pedestrians

On both sides, the wooden bridge's entrance is a wide staircase with open treads. A smaller staircase is set into the centre of each one, leading up to viewing platforms slotted within the bridge's structure.

"This project inherits the construction wisdom of ancient covered bridges," said LUO Studio.

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"The covered corridor enhances the overall structural stability and protects the arched wooden structure beneath from exposure to sun and rain."

Steel-strengthened bolts give the structure an additional layer of strength.

Viewing platforms are slotted into the structure at both ends

Timber Bridge in Gulou Waterfront is the latest in a series of innovative projects designed by Luo Yujie, a rising star of the Chinese architecture scene.

His studio won a Dezeen Award for Party and Public Service Center, a community centre built over existing foundations in Yuanheguan, while other projects include the geodesic canopy, Luotuowan Pergola.

With this project, he hopes to inject new interest into an area whose fishing heritage is gradually disappearing.

The area is being rebranded as an eco-tourism resort

It is one of several new bridges that are planned as part of the Gulou Waterfront development, with the aim of making the area accessible for pedestrians without causing disruption to fishing boats.

"While passing through the platforms from two ends to reach the centre of the bridge corridor, visitors can fully experience the light and shadows from the top, feeling calmness and openness in the mind," added the studio.

The photography is by Jin Weiqi and the video is by Jin Weiqi and Xiao Shiming.

Project credits

Client: Jiangmen OCT
Design studio: LUO studio
Design/construction instruction: Luo Yujie, Lu Zhuojian, Wang Beilei
Structural consulting: LaLu Structural Consulting
Construction firm: Shenzhen Zhenhui Architectural Engineering
Wood material suppliers: Shengtehaosen, Kingspine-House
Lighting fixture supplier: Meteor Shower

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transparent rotating walls + exposed pipes assemble LUO studio’s flexible bookstore space

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LUO Studio uses rotating walls to create flexible Beijing bookshop

Translucent rotating walls pivot to transform the interior of this bookshop in Bejing by Chinese architecture firm LUO Studio.

Located in the 479-square-metre basement space of a shopping mall in the Chinese capital, the Mumokuteki Concept Bookstore sells books as well as design objects, flowers, food and coffee.

A system of five rotating walls help to divide up the Mumokuteki Concept Bookstore (Top and above)

The shop occupies the mall's former equipment room, which featured a disorderly arrangement of walls, columns and dense pipelines.

LUO Studio was tasked with working around these existing architectural elements to create an adaptable retail space that could also host events and exhibitions.

A grid of holes is set into the walls

The studio, headed by architect Luo Yujie, recognised that installing a conventional suspended ceiling to conceal the pipework would have created a cramped, oppressive space.

Instead, the team worked to restore the original ceilings, walls and columns with a view to making a feature out of their industrial textures.

Dowels can be slotted into the holes and topped with shelves to form flexible storage

"The white coating of walls and columns was removed and the irregular edges and corners were fully polished, thereby revealing the aggregate's textures in the concrete columns," recalled the studio.

"The original ceiling structures were retained and endowed with a grey tone, which is slightly darker than the walls and harmonises with the entire space."

LUO Studio painted the exposed ceilings a dark grey

Translucent rotating walls were inserted under the beams as secondary structural components.

Composed of a steel frame sandwiched between panels of frosted plexiglass, these dividers can be rotated or fixed freely at any angle to create an adaptable space.

To create one long, continuous space the rotating walls can be set perpendicular to the entrance

When all of the rotating walls are set perpendicular to the store's entrance, the whole space becomes open and transparent.

However, when they are positioned in parallel to the entrance, the Mumokuteki bookstore is divided into multiple independent parts to create a sense of depth.

A grid of holes is set into the walls, allowing wooden dowels to be inserted and topped with metal shelving for displaying books and objects.

"The metal bookcases are structural furniture, which also functions as partitions that help increase the variability and flexibility of the space," said the studio. "Each metal bookcase is an embedded structural installation."

The rotating walls consist of an industrial steel frame

Rotating steel-framed walls with clear plexiglass screens are installed at the entrance by the coffee bar, creating what the architects call a "transition area" that leads to the rear of the shop where the dining area and further display areas are located.

All of the store's furniture and the coffee bar is made from elm, which adds warmth to the otherwise industrial interior.

The steel framework is sandwiched between panels of frosted plexiglass

"The overall interior design of the project is not conventional, as all strategies taken are aimed to return the architectural space to its original state," concluded the architects.

"Through the insertion of structural furniture and other various spatial creation methods, the design restores the original appearance and authenticity of the space."

The store is located in the basement of a shopping mall

Other interiors with rotating walls include an apartment on the Spanish coast by KMN Architectures where modular storage walls spin around to create extra bedrooms for guests.

Photography is byJin Weiqi.

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