The bridges, dreams of freedom in times of confinement

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The bridges , born throughout all of History as constructs created to unite territories, to facilitate the circulation and the meeting of the people, acquire a special meaning in full pandemic Covid-19, when a good part of the planet is confined or has many travel restrictions. The bridges are evocative, photogenic, cinematic : the Brooklyn bridge in New York, the Golden Gate in San Francisco, the Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Charles Bridge in Prague…

Many of them have starred in unforgettable movies as “The bridge on the river Kwai” “The bridge of spies”, “The bridges of Madison county” or “The lovers of the Pont Neuf”, to cite just four examples. But also the bridges have been a priority objective in the wars. As a witness of one of the most recent, the Mostar, on the Neretva river , which was destroyed in 1993 during the war in the former Yugoslavia. It was rebuilt, and was reopened in 2004 as a symbol of national reconciliation. Cities such as Venice or Paris would not be as romantic without its most beautiful bridges: the of Sighs, the Soul, the Pont Neuf…

Bridge over the river Mersey (Liverpool) – FHECOR

Precisely, the bridges star in an exhibition which re-opens its doors the Central de diseño of Matadero Madrid . The fruit of the collaboration between the Fundación diseño Madrid (DIMAD) and FHECOR -consulting firm specializing in structural engineering, which he earned in 2019 a mention in the National awards for Innovation and Design-, “Design of bridges” brings together, until the 13th of September , a dozen bridges and walkways designed by FHECOR in various parts of the world in the last 20 years, which can be observed through models, photographs, drawings, and audiovisual materials.

Among the works on display there are engineering projects of different typologies, structural, such as the bridge over the River Mersey (Liverpool), the ria of Viveiro (Lugo), the gateway Zabalgana (Vitoria), the bridges over the Tagus river (Alcántara) and on the Guadalquivir (Montoro), the footbridge over the river Minho (Vila Nova de Cerveira, Portugal), the bridge over the Genil river (Granada, spain), the gateway Harley Street (Cork, Ireland) or the viaduct over the river Ulla.

Bridge over the Tagus river (Alcántara, Cáceres) – FHECOR

Roberto Turégano, curator of the exhibition , explains to ABC, “the show aims to demonstrate the power of design and creativity in the construction of bridges in the engineering Spanish”. What is Spain among the major powers, construction of bridges? “Not between, I think that we’re the best,” he added. And he cites as an example the bridge of the Mersey, in the United Kingdom, which is “the suspension bridge longest in the present and has been made by this Spanish company. We do not know the background to the power of our own companies”.

Bridge over the river Guadalquivir (Montoro, Córdoba) – FHECOR

To the curator of the exhibition ” building bridges it is essential to establish solid, lasting relationships between people, human groups, and even between adversaries declared. It is always possible to resolve conflicts and move forward in our challenges if you are willing to look, to cross or traverse the space that separates an edge of the other, overcoming obstacles”. “ you have to cross the bridges, to be found in them . The bridge has so much meaning… it Is a world very rich,” says Turégano. Does your bridge favorite? “There is one that I like very much in Bassano del Grappa, in Italy. It is of wood, covered. It is great as a living room where you can see the Alps”.

Jose Romo, ceo of FHECOR and designer of bridges , said: “for more than 40 years we have had the opportunity to design bridges and walkways emblematic in very different places of Spain and Europe of which we feel very proud. With this show we wanted to “build bridges” to the citizens and share with them these works that have been made in this century and that we believe that they contribute to improving the cityscape and the quality of life of those who use them”.

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