Vebjørn Sand Engineers da Vinci Bridge in Ås, Norway
The end of the month Nov 2001
Vebjørn Sand, a contemporary Norwegian artist, became interested in da Vinci’s designs for a self-supporting arched bridge in 1996. Through a partnership with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA), Sand was able to build a da Vinci bridge for pedestrians and bikers crossing Highway E18 in the municipality of Ås, Norway. This was possible only because of the NPRA’s historic receptiveness to projects that combine art with functionality in public space. The design is slightly modified; while da Vinci’s original design only had one parabola, the bridge in Ås is supported by three parabolic arches. The parabolic structures are suited to this design by distributing weight to the wide metal pillar abutments at the base. The bridge is made of laminated wood reinforced with steel, rather than the stone that da Vinci had originally proposed. Construction of the 330 foot long bridge by the Moelven Group lasted approximately 5 years, from 1996 to 2001. The bridge was opened to the public in November of 2001 by Queen Sonja of Norway.
Sources:
Atalay, B. (2013, February 3). LEONARDO’S BRIDGE: Part 3. “Vebjørn Sand and Variations on a Theme by Leonardo”. Retrieved May 13, 2019, from blog.nationalgeographic.org/20…
Nash, E. P. (2001, December 9). TRAVEL ADVISORY; After 500 Years, Leonardo Gets His Bridge. The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2019, from www.nytimes.com/2001/12/09/tra…...
Skari, Bent, ed. (2010). Statens vegvesen: Akershus 1990–2000 (PDF). Oslo, Norway: Statens vegvesen. p. 214. ISBN 82-994614-2-1. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
[Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project Bottom View]. (2015, December 4). Retrieved May 12, 2019, from www.dezeen.com/2015/12/04/a-z-…
Photo is taken from the Dezeen article, cited above. The photo was obtained using the image search website Broer, which searches for open source photos.