SPACE March 2026 (No. 700)
interview Vinu Daniel Principal, Wallmakers × Kim Bokyoung
Kim Bokyoung (Kim): Bridge House is an architectural work that synthesises two distinct programmes: a bridge and a house. What was the background to this project and what is its actual current use? I am particularly curious as to why a bridge was required on this specific location.
Vinu Daniel (Daniel): The government constructed a canal that divided the land into parcels and rendered one side of the site inaccessible, therefore a bridge was necessary to access the other parcel of land. What we did was combine the client’s two different needs for a bridge and house into one, keeping in mind the constraints: the two parcels of land had to be connected, but the foundations couldn’t rest within the 100ft (approx. 30.5m) width of the spillway; we could make a bridge, but there had to be enough clearance for a JCB to clean the two streams underneath.
Kim: Typically, a bridge is a form of public infrastructure; this integration inevitably precludes public access. The central span appears to function simultaneously as both the bridge passage and the primary living area. Given the challenge of reconciling the dual programmes of a bridge and a house, what were your primary criteria for the spatial configuration and the floor plan? How did you negotiate the overlap between the passageway of the bridge and the domesticity of a living room?
Daniel: We didn’t have to. The bridge is a private pedestrian one. So it just had to connect the two pieces of land over the stream and provide access to the other parcel of land. We just kept the layout of the living space very simple and limited in its furniture.
