Transnational connection over the Amur river: Blagoveshchensk Cable Car by UNStudio

The competition initiated by Strelka KB for the Blagoveshchensk Cable Car, the first-ever cross-border aerial passenger line, has been won by UNStudio with its design proposal for the terminal on the Russian side.  Featuring four cabins with a capacity of 60 passengers each, the new cable car will connect Blagoveshchensk in Russia to the north Chinese city of Heihe in a matter of minutes.

The most important reference point for UNStudio is the Amur river, which forms the border between Russia and China. When it freezes over – a regular occurrence due to the Siberian anticyclone – the watercourse literally joins the two cities. It was this climatic context that provided inspiration for the design of the Blagoveshchensk Cable Car terminal, which as a podium for bicultural identity responds to its urban location, as Ben van Berkel states.

Provision of the terminal building with an elevated riverside viewing platform curates the visual relationship between Blagoveshchensk and Heihe. At the same time the viewing platform forms a place where visitors will be able to make out the first contours of the opposite riverbank, while people arriving from China will conversely be provided views of Blagoveshchensk. It is not yet clear who will be designing the corresponding Heihe Cable Car on the Chinese side.

Further information: 

UNStudio: Ben van Berkel with Arjan Dingsté and Juergen Heinzel, Wael Batal, Daniel Cely, Bruno Peris, Milou van Min, Evan Shaner, Dario Castellari

Advisors:
Competition Management, formulation economic and functional model – Strelka KB

Visualisations; PYXID