古劳水乡木桥

Due to the geographical proximity to water, Gulou in Jiangmen City established the tradition of making use of water system to dig ponds and form mounds for fishing and farming. As the water system and fish ponds occupy a large area and form a fragmented spatial pattern in local villages, lots of bridges have been built to connect the areas segmented by water. Gulou Waterfront is eco-cultural tourism resort developed by OCT Group, an enterprise that mainly engages in urban development and operations, as its first rural revitalization project in Jiangmen. The resort development aims to organically coexist with local traditional water villages through active intervention into rural development, to maintain the basic geographical fabrics of existing water town, and to integrate nature education, children's play area and characteristic fishing and farming culture in an organic manner. These operations in the resort require several bridges in certain areas, to facilitate people’s movement. This timber bridge was built in such a context. To differentiate it from urbanized constructions and revitalize traditional water town culture, the design team applied natural wooden materials, and followed the construction techniques of traditional Chinese wooden bridges. Timber components with small sections are interconnected to form the structures. To ensure the smooth passage of fishing boats underneath, the bridge body is arched. Traditional bridges such as the Rainbow Bridge depicted in the famous Chinese ancient painting Along the River during the Qingming Festival are also constructed in an arched shape. Another characteristic of traditional bridges is the covered corridor on it, which ensures structural stability and protects the arched wooden structure below from exposure to sun and rain. With contemporary technology and approaches, the project pays tribute to traditional Chinese bridge construction wisdom, and reshapes the spatial context of water town and traditional farming lifestyle.

江门古劳，因为特殊的临水地理，素来有利用水系进行围墩渔牧的农耕传统，由于水系、鱼塘在村落区域中占据了极大的场地、并分割出很多地块，使得桥梁作为连接被水分割的区域特别常见。 古劳水乡，是以城市开发和运营为主的华侨城首次在江门进行的一次乡村振兴的尝试，旨在通过积极的介入乡村的发展，与传统水乡村落有机共生，维持现有水乡的基本地理形态，将自然教育、儿童主题的游玩和水乡渔牧农耕文化进行了有机链接。这些业态的营造需要在必要的区域进行几座桥梁的搭建，方便人群的顺利通达。 木桥的建设产生于这样的大背景环境之下，为了区别于城市化建设，重塑传统水乡文化，采取了完全生态的木料做为建材，遵从东方传统木桥的建造工艺：“小料大作“，通过小截面的木料互相咬合连接。为了保证桥下渔船的顺利通过，桥体起拱。传统木桥如“清明上河图”的虹桥即是这样的拱形，传统桥梁还有一个特点就是桥上有廊屋，通过廊屋的建造既从结构形成整体稳定性，同时也通过廊屋的建造保护下面的拱木避免日晒雨淋。这个桥的建造借由当下的技术工艺，而向东方传统造桥致敬的一个作品，去重塑水乡、传统农耕生活方式的空间文脉。