Let Me Show You A Bridge That Deserves To Be Put In An Art Museum
A Structural Engineering student’s take on why some structures are better than others
Our lives are inevitably bound by and shaped by the structures around us. We live in them, calling them homes; we go through them, calling them tunnels; we move on them or thanks to them, calling them roads, or bridges.
The bridge has a particularly interesting function: it connects two places in a more complex way than a road does. The bridge helps to elevate the passenger, allowing them to move above a body of water, a valley, or a three-dimensional urban labyrinth of roads and crossings.
But apart from being a beacon of utility, good structures must also be efficiently built, and display some form of beauty or elegance. Satisfying this triad requires a mastery of the material, a deep knowledge of the building site and an artistic touch, which is why great structures, which satisfy all three are often given the grand label of Structural Art.
Can structures be appreciated in the same way art can?
The word “artwork” usually connotes a small object, be it a painting, a sculpture, or a bespoke piece of clothing. But could that definition be exploded in scale…
