Gushan Bridge Nightscape Enhanced with Lighting

The Gushan Bridge is 4,812meters long (the part spanning the river is 1,520 meters long) and 42 meters wide, and the main tower is 142 meters high. To support such a load, the self-anchored tower has foundations that extend 102 meters deep. Located next to the eastern side of the office area in eastern Fuzhou’s Xincheng, it looks to Mt. Gu, its namesake. The minaret-looking tower is a symbol of the bridge as a gateway.

The tower is clearly a symbol of strength, so our design highlights its power. Though the lofty tower is a structural pillar, its tops have a stacked look, giving opportunity for detailed work in the lighting. The main cable, with a necklace-like appearance, needed something akin to diamonds. The points of intersection of the main and suspension cables were thus illuminated, directing light downward to make the bridge look winged and allow its full volume to be visible from afar. The roadway lighting is under the surface of the box girders to produce details in the reflection on the water, interacting with passing boats and pedestrians. As the roadway is primarily meant to express the beauty of power, color has been left out of the equation. With changes in the seasons and people’s feelings, the color temperature can be adjusted. Situated on this long river, the bridge combines with the landscape, architecture, and pedestrians along both banks to produce a radiant urban nightscape.

To reduce costs, the floodlights on the tower, the wall washer lights on the edge, and the floodlights on the piles were done with light fixtures already on the bridge; only the positions and angles of projection were changed. We further did our utmost to ensure the brightness and color temperature of the old and new lights are as consistent as possible.