Bridge Pavilion is an enclosed interactive space spanning the Ebro River to form a gateway to the Zaragoza Expo, located in the city of Zaragoza, the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous community of Aragon, within the northeastern part of the Kingdom of Spain.
The building is designed by the British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, who designed it for the Expo 2008 in Zaragoza as one of the landmarks for the event. It is a modern and very innovative covered bridge, which is 280 meters (919 ft) long, and imitates a gladiola flower over the Ebro River.
Four structural elements correspond to specific spatial enclosures, which intersect and brace each other, out of which “Water and Sustainable Development” is the key interpretation from the expo’s theme. The construction material of the pavilion is Glass Fibre Reinforced Concrete, where the pavilion is covered with fibre glass (fibreC) that has different shades of grey.
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The ultra-modern structure was built using an interlocking diamond-shaped system that connects three elongated steel “pods” that run diagonally across the shores of the Ebro River. The center of the bridge rests on a small island in the middle of the river. The result is a shark-skin façade that shimmers as it reflects the ever-present Spanish sunshine and the water below.
Some of the shingles rotate around a pivot, which allows for natural airflow and temperature control inside the exhibition spaces as well as interior light control. This futuristic masterpiece by Hadid is making her one of the ultra-modern architects who have designed something surreal.
