The
Zubizuri ( Basque for "
white bridge"), also called the
Campo Volantin Bridge or
Puente del Campo Volantin, is a
tied archA tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch, or top chord, are borne as tension by the bottom chord , rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations...
footbridgeA footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. In many developed countries, footbridges are both functional and can be beautiful works of art and sculpture...
across the Nervion River in
BilbaoBilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country in northern Spain and the capital of the province of Biscay ....
, linking the
Campo Volantin right bank and
Uribitarte left bank of the river.
The bridge was designed by architect
Santiago CalatravaSantiago Calatrava Valls is an internationally recognized and award-winning Valencian Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland...
, who also designed the city's
Loiu AirportBilbao Airport is a public airport located north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Spain. It is the most important airport of the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 4,172,903 passengers on 2008...
. The design consists of an inclined
structural steelStructural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and strength...
archAn arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight . Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-History:Arches...
linking two platforms, with access ramps and stairways on both banks.
The
Zubizuri ( Basque for "
white bridge"), also called the
Campo Volantin Bridge or
Puente del Campo Volantin, is a
tied archA tied-arch bridge is an arch bridge in which the outward-directed horizontal forces of the arch, or top chord, are borne as tension by the bottom chord , rather than by the ground or the bridge foundations...
footbridgeA footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. In many developed countries, footbridges are both functional and can be beautiful works of art and sculpture...
across the Nervion River in
BilbaoBilbao is the largest city in the Basque Country in northern Spain and the capital of the province of Biscay ....
, linking the
Campo Volantin right bank and
Uribitarte left bank of the river.
Description
The bridge was designed by architect
Santiago CalatravaSantiago Calatrava Valls is an internationally recognized and award-winning Valencian Spanish architect, sculptor and structural engineer whose principal office is in Zurich, Switzerland...
, who also designed the city's
Loiu AirportBilbao Airport is a public airport located north of Bilbao, in the municipality of Loiu, in Spain. It is the most important airport of the Basque Country and northern Spain, with 4,172,903 passengers on 2008...
. The design consists of an inclined
structural steelStructural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross section and certain standards of chemical composition and strength...
archAn arch is a structure that spans a space while supporting weight . Arches appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC in Mesopotamian brick architecture and their systematic use started with the Ancient Romans who were the first to apply the technique to a wide range of structures.-History:Arches...
linking two platforms, with access ramps and stairways on both banks. The curved steel bridge deck is suspended by steel cables. The structure is painted white, as with other Calatrava designs.
It offers pedestrians a convenient route from hotels to the nearby Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. It was opened to the public in 1997.
Published criticism
Since its opening, it has been subjected to praise as a symbol of the new Bilbao and as a draw for tourism. Architectural professor Alexander Tzonis wrote:
"The intelligence, vitality, and originality of the bridge's curved configuration challenged the ordinariness and slow decline of the urban setting, bringing a message of hope and an invitation to imagine better conditions."
However, other professionals have been more equivocal, bridge engineer Matthew Wells saying:
"Regrettably, the balance of light steel superstructure on the cantilevered abutment ends is strained, like a sculptural toy, and the bridge touches the ground uncomfortably."
History since opening
The bridge has also been accused of impracticality: it is locally infamous for the glass bricks set into its floor, which can become slippery in the wet climate of the city.
The original design connects the bridge on the left bank to the Uribitarte dock and not to the higher street Alameda Mazarredo.
Local authorities temporarily installed a further
scaffoldingScaffolding is a temporary frame used to support people and material in the construction or repair of buildings and other large structures. It is usually a modular system of metal pipes , although it can be made out of other materials...
footway joining the bridge and Mazarredo street, but removed it under protests from Calatrava.
In 2006, the local authorities authorized
Arata IsozakiArata Isozaki is a Japanese architect from Ōita, Ōita. He won the RIBA gold medal in 1986. He graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1954...
to erect a new footway from the bridge to the construction site of the
Isozaki AteaThe Isozaki Atea twin towers, in Bilbao, Spain are the tallest residential buildings in the city and the Basque Country. The towers are 83 metres tall and have 22 floors. The first two floors have a mixed-commercial usage, with the rest having residential usage...
towers. Calatrava responded in 2007 by suing Bilbao for the moral rights to the integrity of his creation (a part of the
intellectual propertyIntellectual property is a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law...
under the
Spanish copyright lawSpanish copyright law governs copyright , that is the rightsof authors of literary, artistic or scientific works, in Spain. It wasfirst instituted by the Law of 10 January 1879, and, in its origins, was influenced by French copyright law...
), where a metal bar had been cut.
The mayor of Bilbao,
Iñaki AzkunaIñaki Azkuna is a Spanish politician of the Basque Nationalist Party. He is the present mayor of the city of Bilbao, Biscay in the Basque Country....
, with the support of his fellow councilors claimed that the rights of the owners (Bilbao) took precedence over the architect's rights. He also noted the slips and falls of bridge users, and the cost of replacing broken glass tiles (6,000 euros a year according to opposition speaker Antonio Basagoiti, 250,000 euros in ten years according to a municipal report).
Jurists and local architects have supported the position of the mayor, holding that the modifications do not affect Calatrava's rights.
In November 2007, a judge agreed that there was damage to the creator's moral rights but favored the local council and allowed Isozaki's connection to remain. Calatrava announced his intention to appeal against the decision.
In March 2009, a higher court granted 30,000 euros to Calatrava as damages.
External links