20 Impressive Bridge Innovations

Bridges come in all shapes and sizes, and they're an ancient method for spanning rivers, valleys, and canyons. Still, architects today are constantly finding new ways to design these traditional structures. Bridges that roll into balls, bridges that slowly glide across the water, and bridges that seem to part the seas—top architects have re-defined how we think of civic design.

Even old bridges have been updated in recent years by artists and designers, who have created light installations and yarnbombed some of the most famous bridges around the world. From bridges that have received creative renovations to new designs that challenge old school structures, these 20 Impressive Bridge Innovations will make you think of architecture in a whole new way.

RELATED: The 15 Coolest Bridges Around The World
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Architect: Thomas Heatherwick
Year built: 2004
Location: London

Heatherwick reconsidered the concept of the drawbridge for this design. Using hydraulics to power this footbridge, he created a structure that curls up into a ball when boats need to pass through the River Thames.

Architect: Santiago Calatrava
Year built: 2004
Location: Redding, Calif.

Calatrava has designed about 50 bridges, and this is the first in his repertoire built in the United States. As the name suggests, the bridge acts as a giant sundial, giving it a secondary function besides spanning a body of water.

Architect: Frank Gehry
Year built: 2004
Location: Chicago

The snake-like steel BP Bridge relies on the same materials as the music pavilion in Chicago's Millennium Park, also designed by Gehry. The structure doubles as a footbridge and a sound barrier from the nearby street.

Architect: RO&AD
Year built: 2011
Location: Halsteren, The Netherlands

Historically, this body of water used to be a moat. Even though the land is now used recreationally, the architects didn't want to disrespect the area's legacy by constructing a visible bridge. Instead, they set about designing an invisible crossing that parted the Red Sea moat.

Architect: David B. Dahlquist
Year built: 2011
Location: Des Moines

Also known as "Iowa's Stonehenge," the half-mile long, 13-storey tall bridge is central to Iowa's 25-mile long High Trestle Trail. Iron squares, reminiscent of the coal industry, frame the bridge at varying angles and look like a dizzying spiral from afar. At night, blue LED lights illuminate the squares.

Architect: Erik Andersson Architects
Year built: 2013
Location: Norrköping, Sweden

A beautifully simple design prevents this bridge from becoming snowy or icy. The structure is hollow and filled with hot air to keep the bridge dry in the winter. Now we only wish they would apply this concept to entire cities.

Architect: West 8
Year built: 2011
Location: Xi'an, China

Even though this outdoor space is called the Garden of 10,000 bridges, there's only five installed in the grassy field. The name is more figurative: the bridges follow a trail that weaves up and down through the tall grass, representing the journey of human life.

Architect: Ingenieurbüro Grassl GmbH Beratende Ingenieure Bauwesen
Year built: 1905-2003
Location: Magdeburg, Germany

This bridge is the largest navigable aqueduct in the world. Decades upon decades of work were invested in its completion, and for some time World War II halted its construction. The project, which began in 1905, wasn't completed until 2003.

Architect: Mark Nixon
Year built: 2011
Location: Aarhus, Denmark

600 aluminum pipes hang from the underside of this bridge in Denmark. They sound like giant wind chimes in the breeze and can also be activated by buttons on the surface of the bridge. The structure plays with the concepts of interaction and invisibility. Because the chimes are on the bottom of the bridge, many people will pass them by without seeing them.

Architect: McDowell+Benedetti
Year built: 2013
Location: Hull, England

This here's a drawbridge without the usual drawbacks. It moves on a horizontal plane, slowly enough that pedestrians can walk around on it while it hinges open and closed for boats to pass. There's even a restaurant and a viewing deck on the bridge.

Artists: The Fiber Arts Guild of Pittsburgh
Year built: 2013
Location: Pittsburgh

Yarnbombing: the soft, fuzzy side of street art. Last August, more than 350 volunteers spent a weekend attaching almost 600 blankets to Pittsburgh's Andy Warhol Bridge, accomplishing the largest-scale yarnbomb in recorded history, a project known as "Knit the Bridge."

Architect: Norman Foster
Year built: Not yet constructed
Location: London

Prompted by a large number of cyclist deaths on the London streets, architect Norman Foster designed plans for a large network of bike paths to be built above the city's rail lines called SkyCycle. The project would be quite expensive and laborious to undertake, but his idea is gaining steam with many people who want a safer city for cyclists. If his design is approved, he speculates that construction could be completed within 20 years.

Artist: Leo Villareal
Year built: 2013
Location: San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Calif.

Leo Villareal, an artist whose favorite medium is lights, decked out the Bay Bridge with over 25,000 LED lights in order to celebrate its 75th anniversary. The lights will remain for two years, moving in a variety of changing patterns.

Architect: OMA
Year built: 2018
Location: Bordeaux, France

This bridge won't only be a way to get from point A to point B, it will also be a destination in itself. The structure will be extra-wide to facilitate recreational areas as well as traffic. Even more exciting, the bridge will have a dual purpose: a bridge and an arena for festivals, community events, and concerts.

Artist: Megx
Year built: 2011
Location: Wuppertal, Germany

Even before The LEGO Movie, the little plastic toys were taking the world by storm. This piece by street artist Megx utilizes giant colored panels to make a bridge in Germany look like it's made out of humongous LEGOs. Wunderbar.

Architect: AZC
Year built: 2012
Location: Paris

This fun idea never came to fruition, so your dream of bouncing across the Seine isn't about to come true. Still, the design is so innovative that we had to include it. The bridge design is made up of three giant inflatable rings that support the trampolines that span the French river.

Artist: Di Mainstone
Year built: 2014
Location: Brooklyn, New York

This year dancers or passersby will be hooked into a harness and use their movements to warp and amplify the natural vibrations of the Brooklyn Bridge's suspension cables. As you might imagine, this performance art piece is more than just a good idea. A great deal of scientific research and experimentation is still going into its production. The Human Harp has been in development with support from Queen Mary University of London and the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. The artist, Di Mainstone, hopes to tour the bridge installation internationally after it premieres in Brooklyn.

Designer: Ljusarkitektur
Year built: 2012
Location: Bay of Sölvesborg, Sweden

The Sölvesborg Bridge is the longest pedestrian bridge in Europe, and the town wanted to do something to improve its visibility as a landmark without negatively impacting the surrounding environment. The answer? Lights. The bridge's three massive arches are lit with different colors and patterns depending on the occasion or time of year.

Artist: Olivier Grossetête
Year built: 2012
Location: Tatton Park, London

Pont de Singe means "Monkey Bridge," a name appropriate for the whimsical footbridge suspended by three massive helium balloons. The artist said, "My artistic work tries to make alive the poetry and dreams within our everyday life." Unfortunately, no one was allowed to try out this bridge, but perhaps part of its magic is its serene appearance.

Architect: Thomas Heatherwick
Year built: 2017
Location: River Thames, London

The Garden Bridge will function as both an aesthetic focal point for the famous Thames, as well as a connector between north and south London. In essence, it will be a pedestrian bridge, but with lush gardens and open lawns upon which to relax. Construction on the bridge will begin this year and should be completed by 2017.