Bridges World's Most Incredible

Take a journey along a meandering wonder of these stunning aquascape.

Tanya Mohn

From simple logs of fallen trees or strategically placed stones across a stream, bridges and humans has a long history. Many are designed exclusively for people on foot or bicycle, some are for cars, boats or trains. Some bridges connecting the continents, others are known for their history and cultural attractions are a source of inspiration.

"Few constructs are combined with the aesthetic techniques in a manner so suggestive that the bridges," writes David J. Brown, a historian and author of Bridges Bridge:. Three thousand years of defying nature's with Brown, and Judith Dupré, a historian and expert on the bridge structure, we searched the world for the samples of the incredible architecture covering physical barriers - better known under the bridge .

Pictured: The incredible world bridges

The Helix Bridge Singapore

About 1,000 long-span pedestrian bridge connects the Helix Singapore Youth Olympic Park with the new Marina Bay Sands integrated resort. Designed by architecture firms and the Cox Group, Architects 61, and an international engineering company Arup, Singapore Helix is ​​the first bridge in the world, in the form of interlocking double-spiral, and also enjoy the lights emphasize the unique design, has Brown said. The bridge is a viewing platform, and also serves as a gallery.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence, Italy

Florence Ponte Vecchio (which means "Old Bridge"), crosses the Arno River and is an inhabited bridge, common in Europe during the Middle Ages when the area merchants and occupied homes. "The Ponte Vecchio is more than a bridge. It is a street market, a public place and a lasting icon of Florence," Dupre writes. Today, she said, the bridge houses stores of gold, and on the upper level. The "secret" Vasari corridor as the Renaissance nobility once used to cross between the Pitti Palace and Vecchio bridge is considered the first segmental arch bridge built in the West according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, and "is an excellent technical performance of the European Middle Ages." built in 1345, it took fewer fingers than the Roman semicircular arch design that superficial segmental arch offered less obstruction navigation and safe passage of floods. The design is generally attributed to Taddeo Gaddi, better known as a painter and pupil of Giotto. During World War II, he was the only bridge in Florence saved from destruction by German bombs, when Hitler took a fancy to her.

Sundial Bridge, Redding

The Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava Sundial Bridge, which spans the Sacramento River in Redding, Calif., which connects the two campuses of Turtle Bay Exploration Park. Opened in 2004, the bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is also a gateway to the Sacramento River Trail system, and flew to the back leaning mast with cables taut as the strings of a harp, is a sundial work said David J. Brown, a historian and author of the bridge Bridges: three thousand years of defying nature. The bridge is also environmentally sensitive to its setting. The design allows stand-alone deck to avoid affecting the proximity salmon spawning habitat, as no support in the water, but its glass bottom encourages public appreciation of the river, according to Turtle Bay Exploration Park. The bridge is a sundial of fifty - and the first built in America - designed by Calatrava, Brown writes.

Leonardo da Vinci's "Golden Horn" Bridge, Aas (near Oslo), Norway

 

 Designed in 1502 by Leonardo da Vinci to tighten the "Golden Horn", the famous waterway, Istanbul, separating Europe and Asia, was never built a stone bridge, because the Sultan Turkey fears that it was not technically feasible. Down the ladder, laminated wood and stainless steel version based on the original plan of the famous artist is now a passage near Oslo, Norway. "Since 500 years of beauty and symbolism of the bridge remained a gracious drawing dark in one of the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci, until it is required to be in Norway in 2001 by sand Vebjørn modern artist, "according the website of the Leonardo Bridge Project, a global public art project. Built in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Transport, the bridge was the idea of ​​Leonardo first engineer to be realized.

Millau Viaduct, Millau, France

Rising above the clouds, the Millau Viaduct is the highest road bridge in the world, said Brown, a historian and author of bridges Bridge. With its platform over the Eiffel Tower, which was funded by the same company that built the famous French monument. Designed by engineer Michel Virlogeux and designed by architect Sir Norman Foster, the cable-stayed bridge (on deck with the support of the towers with a series of cables), consisting of seven pillars of concrete and steel apron and extends for over a year and a half miles through the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. Completed in 2004 after building only three years, the Millau Viaduct was designed to have the "delicacy of a butterfly," Foster said in news reports. "A work of man must fuse with nature. The pillars had to look almost organic, as it had risen from the earth," said the English architect, who was interviewed by a regional newspaper and quoted in a BBC report.

Ponte Sant 'Angelo, Rome, Italy

Ponte Sant'Angelo, spanning the Tiber in Rome, one of eight Roman stone bridges are known to have built on the Tiber, between 200 BC and 260 AD, is the most famous of the six "massive beauties" are still use, said Judith Dupré, author of bridges. "The Romans perfected the masonry arch," she said, so they can cover much greater distances than before. "A lot of Roman engineering genius is under the water, hidden from view, but their inventions - including the cofferdam, docks spur that divides the water flow rate and pozzolana, a type of waterproof concrete is still used today, "said Dupre. Ponte Sant 'Angelo, the origin of the name of Hadrian, Emperor, who reigned during its construction, leading to his mausoleum, Castel Sant 'Angelo, a popular tourist attraction in Rome.

 

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