Hybrid building-bridge structure

A cable-stayed bridge featuring residential and office buildings as pylons, connected by cable cars.

This technology is a hybrid building-bridge structure where a bridge deck spanning over the ground is supported by cables attached to multiple buildings containing residential and office spaces, with the base of each building forming an arched tunnel for vehicle traffic. Cable cars are installed between the buildings, traveling along transport cables.

In traditional suspension or cable-stayed bridges, pylons serve little purpose other than reducing the bending moment of the girder, making them highly inefficient relative to their construction costs. As bridges grow longer, drivers spend more time in traffic and may wish to enjoy the scenery, but existing bridge structures lack the space to accommodate such amenities.

This technology utilizes two parallel transport cables for each direction, with a direction-changing mechanism—comprising variable, rotating, auxiliary, and U-shaped curved cables—symmetrically placed at gaps to redirect or maintain the cable cars. The cable cars are self-propelled by rollers and motors on the dual cables. Applicable to long-span urban river crossings, marine tourist bridges, and mixed-use bridge developments, it allows for the monetization of pylons as residential or observation spaces while providing auxiliary transit between buildings.

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Key Features:

• A bridge deck for vehicle traffic, formed as a long, unidirectional structure elevated above the ground.
• Multiple buildings installed at intervals along the length of the bridge deck, featuring internal residential or office spaces and arched tunnel structures at their bases.
• Multiple cables connected at one end to the buildings and at the other to the bridge deck's anchorage to support the deck.
• A direction-changing mechanism symmetrically placed at gaps in the transport cables, using variable, rotating, and U-shaped curved cables to change the direction of the cable cars.

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology for the development of resource-saving, eco-friendly construction systems.

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