Georg Rotne - The Architect as Bridge Builder

Georg Rotne
The Architect as Bridge Builder

Georg Rotne, who designed the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, worked for Ove Arup & Partners in London in the late Sixties and later designed bridges in Denmark, England, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The most successful is the Kylesku Bridge in Scotland.
Since 1992 he has worked as an architect for the ASO Group (Ove Arup and Partners, SETEC, Ginsing and Madsen, ISC) on the ØresundBridge.

The Kylesku Bridge

"Up through history, different professions with different ideals have dominated bridge design. In the Renaissance bridges were the work of architects which meant that they, as all other architectural works, consisted of balanced proportions of firmness, commodity and delight (Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas).

Da Ponte, Rialto Bridge, Venice, 1597

Eiffel, Viaduc de Garabit, Truyere, 1889

The beginning of building science and industrialization gave birth to a new profession: the civil engineer. Bridges became a part of this domain. For the engineer, firmness the work, commodity was changed to utility, and delight was not always considered. The engineers made stunning bridges of iron and steel in the 19th Century and of reinforced concrete in the beginning of the 20th Century. A rational and economic simplicity during modernism.

After the first half of the century, belief in modernism burned out. This, coupled with an urgent need for new infrastructures, meant that bridges became mass produced products designed by large anonymous engineering firms. Inventiveness became rare and economy dominant.

The Bach de Roda Bridge

In the mid 80's, architects reappeared in bridge design. In 1984, an architectural competition was held for an urban bridge in Venice and, the same year Calatrava built his first bridge, the Bach de Roda.
Like Nervi, Calatrava was trained as an architect as well as engineer, but Nervi worked in a rational modernism and Calatrava in a strongly expressive postmodernism.

Architects are becoming more involved in bridge design. It is certainly a relief that, once again, bridges are considered for other than economic values. But still, the bigger the bridge the more important the economics. This does not mean that
beauty has to be left out; a beautiful solution is not necessarily an expensive solution. If a larger bridge is not economical it is not going to be built, and if the bridge does not offer delight by its beauty, it is not worthy of being built".

Georg ROTNE
Architect
Associate Professor
Royal Academy of Fine Arts
Copenhagen

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		Georg Rotne The Architect as Bridge Builder Georg Rotne, who designed the Øresund Bridge between Denmark and Sweden, worked for Ove Arup & Partners in London in the late Sixties and later designed bridges in Denmark, England, Scotland, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The most successful is the Kylesku Bridge in Scotland. Since 1992 he has worked as an architect for the ASO Group (Ove Arup and Partners, SETEC, Ginsing and Madsen, ISC) on the ØresundBridge. The Kylesku Bridge "Up through history, different professions with different ideals have dominated bridge design. In the Renaissance bridges were the work of architects which meant that they, as all other architectural works, consisted of balanced proportions of firmness, commodity and delight (Firmitas, Utilitas, Venustas). Da Ponte, Rialto Bridge, Venice, 1597 Eiffel, Viaduc de Garabit, Truyere, 1889 The beginning of building science and industrialization gave birth to a new profession: the civil engineer. Bridges became a part of this domain. For the engineer, firmness the work, commodity was changed to utility, and delight was not always considered. The engineers made stunning bridges of iron and steel in the 19th Century and of reinforced concrete in the beginning of the 20th Century. A rational and economic simplicity during modernism. After the first half of the century, belief in modernism burned out. This, coupled with an urgent need for new infrastructures, meant that bridges became mass produced products designed by large anonymous engineering firms. Inventiveness became rare and economy dominant. The Bach de Roda Bridge In the mid 80's, architects reappeared in bridge design. In 1984, an architectural competition was held for an urban bridge in Venice and, the same year Calatrava built his first bridge, the Bach de Roda. Like Nervi, Calatrava was trained as an architect as well as engineer, but Nervi worked in a rational modernism and Calatrava in a strongly expressive postmodernism. Architects are becoming more involved in bridge design. It is certainly a relief that, once again, bridges are considered for other than economic values. But still, the bigger the bridge the more important the economics. This does not mean that beauty has to be left out; a beautiful solution is not necessarily an expensive solution. If a larger bridge is not economical it is not going to be built, and if the bridge does not offer delight by its beauty, it is not worthy of being built". Georg ROTNE Architect Associate Professor Royal Academy of Fine Arts Copenhagen ASO arcspace features