I quote from the current issue of BUONGIORNO VENEZIA….
There is a new webcam in Venice: the view over the Calatrava bridge. Under the magnifying lens of architects from all over the world who have been visiting the Biennale Architettura, the fourth bridge across the Grand Canal, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is still in the news… with some instructions for use.
Opened two weeks ago at midnight, the new bridge has been visited by the president of the Italian republic, thus receiving its official approval. People are crossing it with interest, curiosity, and a little fear. While the surface appears slippery, it’s not as bad as expected, but the “false” double steps are deceptive. Pedestrians are advised to pay careful attention when walking down the steps.
Aesthetics has a price. And the price goes beyond the exorbitant construction costs to include constant maintenance. The brass handrail, for example, is already the pigeons’ favourite resting spot and, though it is continuously cleaned, their droppings leave stains on the brass. Even raindrops are spotting the brass, but keep in mind that YOU will be fined if you dirty the railing or spit chewing gum on the steps.
The bridge required six years of work instead of, as originally planned, a little more than one, and it cost twelve and a half million euros instead of four (plus eleven million more in additional expenses which are at the centre of various legal arguments). Those expenditures, however, pale beside yearly maintenance expenses of forty million euros. At the moment, none of the bridge’s accessibility devices for the disabled are working… to be continued.
