These buildings are not futuristic concepts, they are all under construction right now.
While the idea of linking buildings to create a unified structure is nothing new,
as our cities become ever more densely populated – and as the scale and complexity of structures
continue to increase – architects and engineers are taking the concept of skybridges to new heights.
When engineering breakthroughs and the industrial revolution
began to drive our cities skyward, many began to envisage a future where vast networks of
elevated walkways would aid citizen movement above street level.
While this vision never came to be, the concept of skybridges went on to become adopted in
numerous locations around the world – primarily as pedestrian links in shopping malls, public
transportation networks or as protection from the elements in places with extreme climates
such as Dubai or Calgary.
Though the concept proved practical for certain purposes, the feeling of isolation created
and the negative visual impact that these structures had on their surrounding streetscape,
prevented their widespread adoption.
However, since the turn of the 21st Century – with the majority of the global human
population now living in cities, and placing significant demands on space in urban areas
– the concept of skybridges has been reimagined.
Attitudes toward skybridges first began to shift in 1998, when architect Cesar Pelli
designed a two-storey observation deck and walkway to unite what would then become the
worlds’ tallest buildings; the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
The skybridge made the buildings an instantly recognisable symbol of Malaysia and the popularity
of the public observation deck within the structure saw the purpose of skybridges change
from simple, elevated walkways to destinations in their own right.
From here, the concept began to take-off in emerging economies throughout the 2000s, with
many statement projects incorporating impressive skybridges into their designs.
Saudi Arabia’s Kingdom Centre and Shanghai's World Finance Center both incorporated observation
decks into skybridges at their summits, while Bahrain's World Trade Center was unified by
no less than three skybridges that used their positioning between the sail-like towers to
house wind turbines and generate a portion of the building's power.
The design of China’s Linked Hybrid – a multi-use development in Beijing – uses
eight skybridges to unify the complex and create a series of public and private spaces
where occupants can share the resources of other buildings, while fostering a pedestrian-orientated environment.
While skybridges had evolved from simple walkways to striking features, it was the Marina Bay
Sands hotel in Singapore, designed by Moshe Safdie, that largely re-wrote the rulebook
and fundamentally changed the way we see skybridges today.
The Marina Bay Sands scheme took the skybridge concept to a completely new level; connecting
three 207-metre towers with a 340-metre long “skypark”.
By unifying the resort in this way, Safdie created 12,000 square metres of uninterrupted
space that offered guests a chance to circulate and enjoy the resort’s amenities against
a backdrop of breath-taking city views –
views that would otherwise only have been afforded to those in the highest suites.
While construction of the skypark presented
a significant engineering challenge and ultimately resulted in the resort becoming one of the
world’s most expensive skyscrapers, the space it brought to the development broke
new ground and led to the practice of incorporating fully functioning “skyfloors” into several
skyscrapers around the world.
Returning to enclosed examples, China’s CMG Headquarters (formerly the CCTV Headquarters)
in Beijing connects its two towers from the 37th storey upwards, vastly increasing the
amount of lettable floor area within the structure while creating room for green spaces and an
open plaza at street level.
Meanwhile, in New York, the American Copper Buildings are connected by a double floor
skybridge that offers residents of the two towers a range of amenities including pools,
a gym and a resident’s lounge.
While creating two towers increases the views and in turn appeal of residences, the spaces
within the skybridge create a shared, social environment for residents while reducing the
overall number of facilities that would otherwise have been required in two detached buildings.
In one of the boldest examples of this trend to date, Raffles City in Chongqing, China,
sees four of the development’s eight towers united by a 300-metre long, 26-metre high
enclosed linear park named the Crystal.
Again designed by Safdie, the space offers a number of amenities from pools and restaurants
to landscaped gardens.
Far from being restricted to Asia, complex skybridges are now being incorporated into
an array of developments around the world.
The upper third of The Arc, which recently topped-out in Vancouver, will offer residents
unparalleled amenities including a glass floor swimming pool above the void between the two towers.
2019 will also see the completion of Dubai’s Address Sky View hotel and residential towers
which are united by a multi-storey skybridge offering guests and residents an array amenities.
Meanwhile in Melbourne, Collins Arch maximises the amount of space it can create on its height-restricted
site with a number of floors that unite the hotel and residential tower with its commercial
counterpart while creating open green space at street level.
Just a short distance away, work has now commenced on the Sapphire by the Gardens and Shangri-La
Hotel development which is set to be united by a two storey skylobby for shared use between the two towers.
In London, two of the residential towers at Embassy Gardens in the city’s Nine Elms
district will be linked by an impressive skypool.
With advancements in construction methods and materials, and with innovations like horizontal
elevators being trialled, the future of skybridges and building design seems to know no limits.
While we are still some way from that future envisioned, the evolution
of skybridges from simple walkways to critically important, defining structures has now opened
the door to a range of possibilities that are only limited by the imagination and ambition
of engineers and developers.
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