Taiwan's next iconic landmark designed by a legendary architect

By MOOK Scenic Spots / Jun(e), compiled and reported

Spanning the mouth of Taiwan’s third-largest river, the Tamsui River, and featuring the second combined railway and road structure in Taiwan, the still-under-construction Tamsui River Bridge began its first phase of construction in 2014. The Tamsui sunset is a classic nostalgic spot for Taiwanese people and also one of the must-visit areas in Greater Taipei. One of the design challenges for the Tamsui River Bridge was how to integrate the bridge into the beautiful scenery of the sunset. The winning design in the 2015 international competition was submitted by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-British female architect. Once completed, the Tamsui River Bridge will become the world’s largest single-tower cable-stayed bridge.

The late architect Zaha Hadid became the first woman to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004 and is renowned in the international architecture community. For many designers, her influence extends beyond architecture—it represents the future possibilities admired by girls who were just entering the field of design. Her uniquely distinctive design concepts transcend gender and nationality. Zaha Hadid’s connection with Taiwan is not limited to the Tamsui River Bridge project; she also won the bid for the Taichung Guggenheim Museum project in 2004. Although the project was eventually canceled, it still earned her the “Pritzker Prize,” often referred to as the Nobel Prize of architecture.