The Peace Bridge

After our trip to Europe last summer I saw a new bridge across the Grand Canal in Venice. I did some research and discovered the architect who designed it also did a similar foot bridge across the Bow River in Calgary.

The architects name is Santiago Calatrava from Spain.

And this is just one photo of the bridge he did in Venice. If you wish to compare the two bridges, go to the blog post I did last year on the bridges of Venice. After seeing this bridge I added the Peace Bridge in Calgary to my Bucket List.  It took us a year to finally fit it into our schedule.

About a year ago during the flood in Calgary you can see how high the water came on the Bow River.  Photo thanks to Courtney Lee.

They closed the bridge.  This photo also shows how effective the lighting is on the bridge. To see some awesome photos of the Calgary flood check this out!

Another great photo of the Peace Bridge at high water... scary times!  Isn't the lighting great!

A man saw me taking photos of the bridge and we visited for a minute.  He knew a lot about the bridge... even the name of the architect.  He was quick to tell me that it cost the City of Calgary 25 million... and that there was a lot of controversy about building  it.

To see more about the details of the controversy check out Peace Bridge on Wickipedia.

This bridge is designed with a bicycle lane in the middle... and pedestrian lanes on each side.

The curved handrail glass looks really cool.

But occasionally like anything glass, some idiot can break it.

Someone carried a rock here and threw it.  I saw the point of impact.  This glass was supplied by a company in Austria... so this does't get fixed by calling up Speedy Glass.

The one unanswered question I have on this bridge is, "How did they make the curved shaped structural members?"  I expect that these are hollow tubes, but they are all welded and fabricated without any obvious seams.  Can anyone tell me how they did it?  And imagine all the fun they must have had getting all the tempered glass the right shape and curve.

The white tubes on each side of centre above provide two continuous bars of light from above.

There is a row of up lights in the concrete pedestrian lane on each side.

At the bottom of the glass handrails there is also some foot level lighting.

You can see a park bench on the walking path along the river to the upper right... this is where Shirley and I had a picnic lunch on Friday before we headed up to CUC.

I look forward to coming back to this bridge again and again.  When ever we go down Memorial Drive I will be hoping to find an open parking spot where I can duck in so we can spend a few minutes crossing the bridge again... and I will be looking for a chance to walk across in the late evening, to see the effect of the bridge lighting.

"Any bridge that is really cool needs to be enjoyed more than once." -Sherwin Goerlitz

I kept doing research on the web and found a good article that said the metal tubular structure was built in Spain and shipped to Calgary in 16 sections.  The glass was supplied by an Austrian company. They built a temporary enclosure on the south side of the river so that they could control the quality of the welding and hired the best welders to complete the total assembly. This bridge was a work of art, and the architect specified that all joints would be invisible with a high quality painted finish. You may wish to check out this article for yourself.

Venice -a City of Canals and Bridges

Venice is an elegant older lady, full of charm and majestic architecture, with canals instead of streets and more than 400 bridges.

She is a romantic city... where you can get a gondola ride just for the joy of it!

Some even get a singer with accompaniment!  We enjoyed their music when they passed by... and it was great while it lasted.

The first picture and this one are our friends from Alberta.... 12 of us enjoyed a ride together in two gondolas. Above left to right is Barry and Gail Grabo, Byron and Joyce Grabo...amd Shirley.

Most of the bridges in Venice are masonry. 

Academy Bridge as seen from Peggy Guggenheim Museum (1854)

Some are wooden.  

Rialto Bridge opened 1591

Some are large.

And some are small..

But all have steps.  

And all are arched to accommodate boat passage under.

This is not a bicycle friendly place.

We were surprised to learn that it is illegal to ride a bicycle in Venice.  In fact you will get a fine if you are caught riding a bike here.  These bikes stayed parked in the foyer of our hotel until the guests left.

Venice is an island, divided in two by the Grand Canal... with only four bridges over it. 

This is the newest bridge over the Grand Canal.

On our way to board the Royal Carribbean cruise ship our vaporetto (water bus) went under this amazing bridge... unlike any other in this ancient city. This bridge is new... only five years old.

Immediately I was impressed by it's design.  Good design is not an accident.

I was clicking photos like crazy as we passed under it.

I resolved to come back when we returned after the cruise to take more pictures of the bridge and to walk over and enjoy it.  I love creative engineering!

There was a lot of controversy about this bridge before the design was approved.  There was resistance to do anything modern or contemporary in a city steeped in history.

Notice how you can see daylight thru the steps.

The bridge was opened September 11, 2008 and named Ponte della Constituzione.

But the locals and tourists call it the Calatrava Bridge after the famous Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Please click on this link to see exceptional photos of his world class portfolio of projects.

Every effort was made to integrate traditional materials into the construction.  The deck is paved in Istrian stone and the steps have a gentle rise that decreases as you ascend.

The glass panels are translucent so it isn't scary to walk over it.

The parapets are solid glass and the brass handrail seems to just float above.

At the ends of the handrails where they meet the abutments the architect left his subtle stamp with the crest of the Knights of Calatrava.

This pod for handicapped people was no doubt added to satisfy the complainers.

It has not yet been completed and the project has significantly exceeded the 6.7 million dollar budget... so who knows if or when it will get done.

Calatrava is well known for creating bridges inspired by nature and this bridge is no exception.

"Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature.  
It will never fail you." 
-Frank Lloyd Wright

What do you think?

Did they do the right thing here?

Do you like the bridge?

I came upon this link which shows some photos taken during construction... like floating the prefab sections on a barge down the river at night.  And cranes putting sections of the bridge into place.  I like construction projects so found this website most interesting.

Look at some the links and share your thoughts.