Building/Ground: Building as a Bridge

Source: MIMOA.com

Bauhaus Building, Dessau, Germany, 1926 designed by Walter Gropius

The Building itself is a manifestation of the Bauhaus design philosophy. Three different wings are determined for school, workshop, students housing and administration purposes.  -- MIMOA

The glazed, three-storey workshop wing, the block for the vocational school (also three storeys high) with its unostentatious rows of windows, and the five-storey studio building with its conspicuous, projecting balconies are the main elements of the complex. A two-storey bridge which housed, e.g., the administration department and, until 1928, Gropius’s architectural practice, connects the workshop wing with the vocational school.  -- official web site

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Source: illiazine.weebly.com

House over the brook, Mar del Plata, Argentina, 1945 designed by Amancio Williams

The 1943-1945 House over the Brook in Mar del Plata, undoubtedly one of modern architecture’s best know and most daring houses -- Brave/Praxis

The house is a bridge-like structure that spans an existing brook. Its form materialized as the result of Williams's search for a synthetic, abstract solution; at the same time it acknowledges and take advantage of a chance form in the landscape. -- Amancio Williams, Jorge Sillvetti, Editor, Harvard University, Graduate School of Design, 1987. pp. 27-43

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Source: LERA

Former Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, Minneapolis, MN, USA, 1974 designed by Gunnar Birkerts & Associates

This remarkable building consists of an office tower that bridges 330 ft (100 m) across the top of the plaza and a high-security facility below the plaza. The building epitomizes the effective use of tension in its application to high-rise buildings.  -- LERA

You can see its structural design in the curtainwall - that big swoop is the famous load-bearing arch; the building is literally supported like a bridge by the two end pillars.  -- LILEKS

Official web site of architect.

Source: wikipedia.org

Ministry of Finance Building, Bercy, Paris, France, 1989 designed by Paul Chemetov with Borja Huidobro

The building extends to the Seine River, where there is an embarcadero with fast river boats for faster liaisons to other government agencies.

That is why the French media often refer to it as simply "Bercy". The sentence the Bercy Fortress (la forteresse de Bercy) refers to the Ministry as a dark department with obtuse civil servants, especially of high rank. That is emphasized by the impressive look of the building. -- WikiMapia

Source: SOM

Broadgate Exchange House, London, UK, 1990 designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill

Built directly over the railway line, this ten level building is supported by a structure comprised of four parallel arches spanning the railway below. The building's steel structure allows for vast, clear office plates, free of any post. The steel and glass volume seems to float between the arches.  -- steelconstruct.com

Read a description from rudi.net 

AIA Honors SOM’s Broadgate Exchange House with 25-Year Award -- ArchDaily

Source: buildbutler.com

Entrepotbrug, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1993 designed by Atelier Pro

The Entrepotbrug building, located between the Sporenburg peninsula and Borneo Island, was completed between 1991 and 1993. The structure is built atop a curving bridge and features a whopping 524 residences.  -- goamsterdam

Source: Studio J. P.

Dominus Winery, Yountville, California, USA, 1998 designed by Herzog & De Meuron

We designed to house these three functional units in a linear building some 100m / 333ft long, 25m / 82ft wide, and 9m / 30ft high. The building bridges the main axis, the main path of the winery, and is thus in the midst of the vineyards.

We have separated the functional units on the ground floor with covered passageways in-between. The main path of the vineyard passes through the largest of these. This large covered space serves as an open, public reception area, where paths, linking up all the important parts of the winery, intersect.  -- architect's web site

Source: ennead.com

William J. Clinton Presidential Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, 2004 designed by Ennead Architects(Previously Polshek Partnership)

the main body of the Center is turned perpendicular to the river and elevated off the ground plane, allowing the new 30-acre city park along south bank of the Arkansas River to flow beneath. -- architect's web site

AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects -- aiatopten.org

Clinton Library Goes Platinum --  Jetson Green

Source: archdaily.com

Bridge House, Marin, Califorina, USA, 2005 designed by Stanley Saitowitz | Natoma Architects

The house bridges the ravine, spanning east to west.

The house is a continuous 22′ wide two-story bar. A stair leads up to the entry court. The living areas are the upper level and have continuous glass walls which look north to the hill. The bedrooms below have continuous glass walls, which look south to the theater in the landscape. -- ArchDaily

Source: Undine Pröhl archdaily.com

Artist Bridge Studio, San Diego, California, USA, 2006 designed by Safdie Rabines Architects

To create the studio and library without disturbing the surrounding area, the studio was conceived of as a “bridge” spanning a small arroyo adjacent to the house, providing the opportunity to experience the canyon from the best of all possible locations–in and above it. The bridge is supported by two concrete piers on either side of the canyon, and is spanned with two trusses made of top and bottom glulam chords with steel cross members.  -- ArchDaily

Source: ennead.com

WGBH Public Broadcasting Station Headquarters, Brighton, Massachusetts, USA, 2007 designed by Ennead Architects(Previously Polshek Partnership)

a new two-story crystalline "beam", containing content production office areas, is a horizontal form that floats above the technical operations center, spans the street, intersecting the office building, and linking the north and south sites. -- architect's web site

Read about environmental commitment from official web site.

Source: Palladium Photodesign archdaily.com

Unilever Nederland BV, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 2007 designed by JHK Architecten

The office spans the current factory complex. Together with the existing historic building, it is the crowning glory of a multitude of industrial forms, buildings and materials. Thanks to its size and direction, it is an imposing presence at the entrance via the Maasboulevard, the first building in Rotterdam. It also benefits from the view on the city’s skyline. -- ArchDaily

Source: steidle architects archdaily.com

IVG Media Bridge, Rosenheimerstraße, Munich, Germany designed by steidle architects 

On a very limited site within a city block, the concept for the Media Bridge was developed;  a concept very unusual for Munich.  The three story high building, measuring 90 x 23 meters lies horizontally on top of two massive pillars in which the access cores are situated.  The depth of the building is unusual for an office, as are the areas with a ceiling height of 3.8 meters.  These dimensions translate into large open spaces with flexible use and a loft-like character within a kind of horizontal high rise.  The position of the building is also unusual as it seems to rest diagonally across the interior courtyard of the already existing buildings. -- ArchDaily

Source: archdaily.com

Kraanspoor, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2007 designed by OTH, Ontwerpgroep Trude Hooykaas bv

Kraanspoor (translated as craneway) is a light-weight transparent office building of three floors built on top of a concrete craneway on the grounds of the former NDSM (Nederlandsche Dok en Scheepsbouw Maatschappij) shipyard, a relic of Amsterdam’s shipping industry.  -- ArchDaily

A lightweight steel structure incorporating a slimline-floor system was chosen in order to minimise loading. This reduced the total building weight by nearly half.

The scheme is characterised by a vast, double-skin glass facade which provides ample daylight for the internal spaces. The inner facade consists of full-height, hinged timber windows, while the outer ‘climate’ facade is articulated by motorised glass louvres.  -- Architecture Today

Source: archdaily.com

Frexport Headquarters, Zamora Michoacán, México, 2007 designed by CC Arquitectos

The green palette of vegetation and the force of natural stone were the elements that marked the design of this landscape, leaving in its steps all the crops that constitute the company’s line of production. As a result of walking the passages, the user and the visitor , can experience direct contact with the plant life that gives form to the surroundings.  -- ArchDaily

Source: zaha-hadid.com

Zaragoza Bridge Pavilion, Zaragoza, Spain, 2008 designed by by Zaha Hadid

An enclosed interactive space spanning the River Ebro to form a gateway to the Zaragoza Expo 2008, a hybrid of pedestrian footbridge and exhibition pavilion.  -- architect's web site

Read a press release about material of this project from Rider

Source: Max Pritchard

Bridge House, Billabong, Australia, 2008, by Max Pritchard Via A nave do bom gosto

An idyllic site of winter creek, billabong, large river red gums, dense wattles and rocky banks called for a house that would "touch the earth lightly". The solution, a narrow bridge like structure spanning the creek providing the experience of living amongst the trees in an almost untouched beautiful setting. -- architect's web site

Source: Paulo Mendes da Rocha archdaily.com

Cais das Artes, Vitória, ES, Brazil, 2008 designed by Paulo Mendes da Rocha & METRO

The astounding confrontation between nature and construction, in this place, suggests the suspension of the buildings in the air, untangling the visuals for the landscape and the spectacle of the sea and dock`s works.

The exceptional orientation allows the circulation between the exhibition areas of the Museum to happen in the external south side of the building, through crystal clear ramps with a view for the ocean, the ships and the mountains in Vila Velha. -- ArchDaily

Source: predock.com

School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 2008 designed by Antoine Predock

....by demonstrating how plan and section are connected in a complex relationship linking light, spatial flows and structure. This is most clearly evidenced where the studios and seminar rooms form a layered canyon of modulated light. Third, places like the 'hanging' seminar rooms and the rooftop terraces call into question the conventional occupation and programming of space. -- architect's web site

 Read an article "Architects, Watch Your Backs" from Architectural Record

Source: Li Xiaodong archdaily.com

School Bridge, Pinghe, Fujian, China, 2009 designed by Xiaodong Li

Located at a remote village, Fujian Province in China, the project does not only provides a physical function – a school + a bridge, but also presents a spiritual centre.

It is done by combining few different functions into one space – a bridge which connects two old castles cross the creek, a school which also symbolically connects past, current with future, a playground (for the kids) and the stage (for the villagers).  -- ArchDaily

Source: Greg Richardson archdaily.com

Bridge House, Canada, 2009 designed by Mackay-Lyons Sweetapple Architects

The house bridges between two bedrock outcrops parallel to the sea, thereby framing the approach to the sea under its “belly”. One enters at either end from the two rocks. This is a floating lantern of wood-a pure man-made object calling attention to the undulating natural topography of the glaciated landscape. The primary form of the house is deconstructed to create a wide variety of indoor-outdoor conditions. -- ArchDaily

Source: Bates Masi Architects

Genius Loci, Montauk, New York, USA, 2010 designed by Bates Masi Architects

A wood screen covered bridge unifies the two shingle clad volumes, allowing light into the grass paver courtyard below. The cedar screen of the bridge reads differently from day to night. It appears flat during the day, but, as darkness falls, light seeps out in an undulating pattern showing the wedge shape cut in the back of the boards.  -- architect's web site

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Source: Michael Biondo archdaily.com

Bridge House, Kent, Connecticut, USA, 2010 designed by Joeb Moore + Partners Architects

As the house takes on form and volume it turns and bridges across the very landscape that rolling directly under it and down the hillside the house itself is anchored into.  -- ArchDaily

Source: Marcos Mendizabal archdaily.com

Ranco House, Lago Ranco, Chile, 2010 designed by elton+léniz arquitectos asociados

....the house is composed of two volumes connected by a bridge way around the rock and adapt to the position of the trees. -- ArchDaily

Source: construction.com

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, USA, 2011 designed by Moshe Safdie

Safdie covered the museum’s half dozen pavilions, totaling some 200,000 square feet, with swoopy, copper-covered roofs. The pavilions are, in several cases, actual bridges, supported by four-inch-thick steel cables set into to concrete anchorages. The cables form catenary curves as the buildings’ massive glued laminated timber beams push down on them, a tour-de-forces conceived by Safdie and executed with the help of Buro Happold, but also, with so many complicated buildings surrounding the trio of ponds, a kind of architectural three-ring circus.  -- Architectural Record

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Source:  Takumi Ota Photography archdaily.com

Yusuhara Wooden Bridge Museum, Takaoka-gun, Kochi Prefecture, Japan, 2011 designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates

This is a plan to link two public buildings with a bridge-typed facility, which had been long separated by the road in between. The museum technically bridges communications in this area. It functions not only as a passage between the two facilities but also as an accommodation and workshop, ideal location for artist-in-residence programs. -- ArchDaily

Source: Jesús Granada archdaily.com

CETICOM Jaén, Jaén, Spain, 2013 designed by ER Arquitectos + non Arquitectura

A building that is integrated into an orchard and generates a new positive environment for humans. -- ArchDaily

Source: Paul Rivera archdaily.com

Hotel Grand Hyatt, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2015 designed by Sordo Madaleno Arquitectos

As the closest to the sea, the third block offers the best views, which are shared with the rest of the site and enhanced with a striking 12-meter high window that spans 55 meters. -- ArchDaily