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The Bridge as an Architectural Icon

date added: 03.08.2011

Free of the demands of an area program and faced with the challenge of spanning over an obstacle, the bridge holds great potential as an architectural icon.

As constructions which impact our individual and collective lives, bridges find place as metaphors in our language and even in nursery rhymes. By bringing together different disciplines of art and science, the design of bridges creates icons at scales, both large and small. A highly visible construct, the bridge can symbolize events and mark progress. Architects and designers often need to evaluate and communicate the returns from these costly constructions to financiers and other stakeholders.

Bridges at the convergence of art and technology

From a functional perspective, the bridge is required to use technology to defy gravity and leap across physical barriers. But most physical barriers like rivers, water bodies and valleys create highly dramatic settings. Given the high visibility enjoyed by bridges, it is impossible to ignore the aesthetics of their design.

Bridges have come a long way from being raw engineering structures which only addressed the technical aspects of the spanning requirements. Architectural contribution, if any, was an afterthought and expressed by way of ornamentation and decoration. But the most notable bridges are initiated by the seamless integration of art and technology. In fact, as in the case of Santiago Calatrava, both the engineering and architectural aspects of the bridge are attributed to the same designer. Calatrava’s bridges are marveled not only for their technical ingenuity but also their expressive forms.

Source: http://www.suite101.com/

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