Rainbow Bridge Project
Rainbow Bridge Project model of the Bian-He Rainbow Bridge on display at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Boston 2019.
2019 Mass College of Art and Design Technology and Culture students with their research model.
The Rainbow Bridge Project is a Handshouse Studio Making/History project that explores the woven arch; a structural bridge type unique to China found almost exclusively in the mountains between the Zhejang and Fujian provinces. Over two hundred of these bridges were built in this region but only approximately 100 remain today. This project is an interdisciplinary collaboration that seeks to illuminate to the historic significance of these unique structures. through hands-on investigation and reconstruction.
In the spring semester 2019 Handshouse Studio collaborated with a Mass College of Art and Design Technology and Culture class, investigating the “Bian-He Rainbow Bridge” depicted in an early 12th century Chinese scroll known as the ‘Qing Ming Scroll” or the “Life along the River at the Qing Ming Festival” .
There is growing attention to the historic significance of these unique structures. Some carpentry families have survived and retain the knowledge of these building traditions. Recently UNESCO included these bridges on their “Intangible Heritage list” granting them protection for the future.
“Along the River During the Qingming Festival” 12th-century masterpiece by Northern Song dynasty painter Zhang Zeduan. Held in the Palace Museum in Beijing, this iconic handscroll depicts bustling daily life, commerce, and architecture in the capital, Bianjing including the “Bian-He Rainbow Bridge”
White oak model of the Bian-He Rainbow Bridge constructed by Rainbow Bridge Project participants at Mass College of Art and Design referencing “Along the River During the Qingming Festival” 12th-century painting by Zhang Zeduan.