Ås, Norway

Coordinates

Latitude: 59.716688888889
Longitude: 10.783341666667

Timeline of Events Associated with Ås, Norway

Date Event Manage
Dec 2001

Vebjørn Sand da Vinci Bridge

Between 1997 and 2001, Norwegian painter and artist Vebjørn Sand formed a partnership with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration to build what became known as the Vebjørn Sand da Vinci Bridge. Based on Leonardo da Vinci's arched bridge design originally intended for the Golden Horn of present day Istanbul, Sand's pedestrian bridge was built over European route E18 in Ås, Norway. The Vebjørn Sand da Vinci Bridge is smaller version of da Vinci's parabolic arch design which used a wider base to more effectively distribute force, a principle which da Vinci discovered centuries before its common use.

 

This bridge also launched the Oslo Leonardo Bridge Project. The project aims to build da Vinci footbridges all around the world using local resources, and Sand hopes to use the bridge as "a logo for all nations" according to the Wall Street Journal.

 

 

Sources:

 

Morris, Jan. “Spanning Past and Present.” The Wall Street Journal, Dow Jones & Company, 5 Nov. 2005, www.wsj.com/articles/SB113113585415688626.

 

Nash, Eric P. “After 500 Years, Leonardo Gets His Bridge.” New York Times, vol. 151, no. 51962, 2001, p. 3.

 

Wikimedia Foundation. “Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vebj%C3%B8rn_Sand_Da_Vinci_Project.

 

This image by Åsmund Ødegård (Flickr) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0), via Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ADa_Vinci_Bridge.jpg