Höweler + Yoon's Moongate Bridge frames the azure sky as reflected in a lake

Chinese gardens are traditionally known for their elaborate layouts, with architectural pavilions, statues, rocks, water bodies, trees and flowers, jutting miniature hills, winding paths, ornamented bridges, courtyards, framed views to nearby natural wonders, and more. They are imagined as microcosms that integrate absolutely everything that one usually perceives in the natural world. In an attempt to contain the essence of many natural entities, and commandeer not only the connection between the realms of the physical and the ideal but also demonstrate the ideal harmony that can exist between humans and nature, these gardens often end up housing a multitude of sensorial experiences at every nook and turn. In such gardens, enamoured by the new views at every turn, one might forget the lucid episodes witnessed just half a span of a second prior.

However, imagine a garden with these features blown up in proportion, such that the walk from the entrance to the nearest pond, shielded under a flower canopy, registers as a lasting experience—with changing views to the proximal expanses—in its own right. A look at Moongate Bridge in the Houton area of the Pudong District in Shanghai, China, evokes precisely this appreciation. Located at the main entrance to the Shanghai Cultural Park, this structure, designed by Boston-based architectural studio, Höweler + Yoon, offers users a chance to experience a bridge beyond its wonted function.

The Shanghai EXPO Cultural Park has evolved, over the years, from a natural wetland to farmland to the base for heavy industry to its post-industrial version conceived after Shanghai EXPO 2010. The last phase marked the demolition of several pavilions and the conversion of a major chunk of the land into a site dedicated to recreational activities. More recently, in 2017, the expanse was transformed again, into an EXPO Cultural Park, which aims to celebrate the site’s ecological and cultural contexts in tandem with its history. “The transformation of the former World Expo landscape into one of the largest public parks in Shanghai again reimagines the site and redefines the role of a cultural park and landscape for the metropolis,” mentions the press release shared by Höweler + Yoon, which operates from Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and was founded by J. Meejin Yoon and Eric Höweler, who hail from Seoul, Korea and Cali, Columbia, respectively.

The vision for the park lies in its reconnection with the larger ecosystem and the urban context of the city. Divided into four themed corridors and seven distinctly programmed zones, it aims to host a variety of activities that foster social connections as well as the relationships between people and nature, and in the process, become a new public park and cultural centre for the city. Moongate Bridge, with its wide span and clear views of the water body upon which it is positioned, serves as a fitting entryway to the expansive mysteries that lie ahead. Echoing this assertion is the bridge’s Mandarin name, which roughly translates to “unexpected discovery and wonders.” The bridge design—the form of which includes the integration of two separate pedestrian bridges into one conjoined pedestrian plaza—was finalised after a two-stage invited design competition. It is situated at the northern boundary of the park, adjacent to two subway entrances. Moongate Bridge marks the entrance to the new People’s Park.

Completed in 2022, Moongate Bridge was 'conceptualised as one single bridge framing the body of water with a series of partial circular openings.' These openings are inspired by the Chinese moongates that are set in place to frame entities from the proximal landscape, to alter perceptions of scale and distance, and serve as an auspicious entryway into the garden or the next quarter of a private landscaped space. In the case of Moongate Bridge, however, the moon gate is rotated in plan, such that 'it frames an artificial lake to reflect the sky above.'

In framing the lake instead of the garden, the bridge invites visitors to not just walk through it, but spare a moment, steal a peek from behind the ramparts, or move closer to the periphery for a more elaborate view of the sky as reflected in the artificial lake below. "The bridge is conceived of as a destination, not just as a means of crossing a body of water. Like the Chinese garden, it is not about objects, but rather about relationships—views, and vantage points. The design of the Moongate Bridge resonates with the cultural context in which it is situated, allowing the park to build a connection to the past as well as expand on a culturally specific building tradition. The Moongate Bridge marks a moment between a historical referentiality and contemporary reflexivity,” the architects share.

It is for this reason that the bridge is wider than it is long. Its edges, too, include protrusions that can serve as both viewing platforms and gathering spaces. “The truncated piers, the result of the Boolean geometry of the circular cutouts, jut out towards the water form a series of overlooks and vantage points,” the architecture studio shares. The geometry of the bridge encourages visitors to pause and contemplate, and in this process, connect with the proximal landscape. Just like the traditional Chinese gardens frame and reframe specificities of the nearby landscape with a dense and rich set up of the rugged provisions of nature, Moongate Bridge invites visitors to the fore of nature with minimalism.

The bridge and plaza are made using steel-reinforced concrete, with the curved surfaces supported using the metal formwork technique. The floor of the bridge is covered with pavers of three colours that are arranged in different patterns so as to designate areas for vehicular and pedestrian movement. The balustrade, on the other hand, is made up of granite blocks that are arranged to form a stepped curve. While the interior of the balustrade reveals the grain of the masonry blocks, its exterior surface is smoothened with site-cast concrete. The different pavers, the positioning of granite blocks and the play of light and shadow manage to undo the monotony that could have otherwise pervaded the gray expanse.

Project Details

Name: Moongate Bridge
Location: Houton area of the Pudong District in Shanghai, China
Area: 5200 sqm
Year of completion: 2022
Architect: Höweler + Yoon
Design team:  Eric Howeler, J. Meejin Yoon, Elle Gerdeman, Ching Ying Ngan, Kevin Marblestone