Aesthetics of bridging solutions of Santiago Calatrava

Abstract

Bridges and viaducts are not only engineering solutions, ensuring the possibility to overcome obstacles and communication – they are also a spatial elements, visible in the city landscape. For centuries, it was attempted to give the bridges an interesting shape; they were sometimes specific gates to the cities, too – the example here can be the famous bridge in Avignon. Also today they are the expression of styles and trends in architecture, often designed by renowned artists. Additionally, bridges increasingly often become the spatial dominants, constructions clearly silhouetted against the greenery or urban tissue, the contemporary symbols of the cities. Santiago Calatrava, one of the leading Spanish architects and designer of, among others, the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, is the creator of not only enclosed structures. His works also include numerous bridges, viaducts and walkways, among others: “Puente De La Mujer” in Buenos Aires, the “Sundial” bridge in Redding and the “Katehaki Bridge” footbridge in Athens. He creates sculptural works in reinforced concrete, combining the sublime sense of aesthetics with sophisticated engineering. Light, openwork, white constructionsare both practical and extraordinarily appealing.