{"id":299712,"date":"2025-11-21T17:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/299712\/"},"modified":"2025-11-21T17:45:17","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T17:45:17","slug":"paper-folding-informs-folio-bridges-steel-span-over-water-path-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/299712\/","title":{"rendered":"paper folding informs folio bridge&#8217;s steel span over water path in china"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Folio Bridge explores structural potential through paper crease<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>FAR Workshop\u2019s Folio Bridge in Huzhou, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/chinese-architecture\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">China<\/a>, draws its concept from the structural behaviour of a folded sheet of A4 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/paper\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">paper<\/a>. The project examines how a simple crease can reinforce a lightweight material while retaining its inherent thinness and visual delicacy. After testing multiple folding configurations, the design team focused on a single-crease strategy to achieve the required span. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.designboom.com\/tag\/bridge-architecture-and-design\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">bridge<\/a> form was defined by fitting three construction curves and one construction point to the crease line. Working closely with Zhang Zhun\u2019s Structural Research Institute, the team iteratively adjusted the curvature of these lines and the position of the construction point to optimise force distribution across the structure.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Because the resulting form created a steeply sloped bridge surface, the design no longer accommodated direct pedestrian circulation along the primary structure. Instead, the curved surface was treated as a landscape-like element. A narrow elevated path was introduced, allowing users to cross the bridge as if traversing a mountain ridge, contrasting the bridge\u2019s substantial presence with its paper-inspired thinness.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"paper folding informs folio bridge's steel span over water path in china\" width=\"818\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/folio-bridge-by-far-workshop-inspired-by-a-paper-crease-4-691d79af22ce2.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" lazyload\"\/><br \/>all images by \u00a9Biosphere unless stated otherwise<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>FAR Workshop\u2019s elevated steel path curves like a mountain ridge<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>To minimise the visual impact of this secondary circulation element, FAR Workshop\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.farworkshop.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">design team<\/a> constructed the path from slender, high-strength threaded steel bars, used consistently for the support, treads, and handrail. This single-material approach maintains the clarity of the overall form. The bridge spans 15.825 meters. Given the complexity of its curved geometry, the construction team produced a full positioning frame based on sectional drawings. The bridge was fabricated from multiple steel plates, each with a distinct curvature, manually bent and adjusted using a press machine. These components were then spatially positioned within the frame and welded into a single continuous structure, followed by installation of the steel-bar pathway.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The project explores the spatial experience generated by an extreme structural gesture, folding a thin \u2018sheet\u2019 into a substantial architectural volume and introducing a narrow path across it. The contrast between mass and lightness defines the bridge\u2019s visual identity and shapes the way users perceive and inhabit the structure.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"paper folding informs folio bridge's steel span over water path in china\" width=\"818\" height=\"485\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/folio-bridge-by-far-workshop-inspired-by-a-paper-crease-1-691d79af22be1.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" lazyload\"\/><br \/>Folio Bridge takes its concept from the fold of an A4 sheet<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"paper folding informs folio bridge's steel span over water path in china\" width=\"818\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/folio-bridge-by-far-workshop-inspired-by-a-paper-crease-10-691d79af22e4d.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" lazyload\"\/><br \/>the design studies how a single crease can create structural strength<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" bad-src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP\/\/\/yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7\" alt=\"paper folding informs folio bridge's steel span over water path in china\" width=\"818\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/folio-bridge-by-far-workshop-inspired-by-a-paper-crease-11-691d79af22e86.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\" lazyload\"\/><br \/>a thin, paper-like form becomes a load-bearing span<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Folio Bridge explores structural potential through paper crease \u00a0 FAR Workshop\u2019s Folio Bridge in Huzhou, China, draws its&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":299713,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[18683,449,458,459,64,63,38353,460,134,171314],"class_list":{"0":"post-299712","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-architecture-in-china","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-design","11":"tag-artsanddesign","12":"tag-au","13":"tag-australia","14":"tag-bridge-architecture-and-design","15":"tag-design","16":"tag-entertainment","17":"tag-paper-design"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299712","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299712"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299712\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/299713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299712"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299712"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299712"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}