Aesthetic Considerations for Urban Pedestrian Bridge Design

Abstract

Many urban pedestrian bridges have been built in the world. However, their aesthetic aspect has often been neglected. As the loadings of an urban pedestrian bridge is comparatively small and its width is relatively narrow, the modeling of the bridge is more flexible than other types of bridges. In this paper, the factors affecting the formation of urban pedestrian bridges are analyzed. These factors include the surroundings, positions of viewers, and types of bridge structures. Additionally, some basic considerations and regulations concerning the aesthetic shaping of urban pedestrian bridges and plane and space compositions are developed. These regulations can help engineers better understand the aesthetic aspect of urban pedestrian bridge design. Finally, the aesthetic analysis of several existing bridges based on the presented regulations is given.