tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6470543006314152962.post4910611061685025116..comments2024-03-11T16:49:27.614+00:00Comments on The Happy Pontist: Bridge criticism 7: Moralists on the marchThe Happy Pontisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15252272118786667592noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6470543006314152962.post-58872175985691965122009-02-08T23:50:00.000+00:002009-02-08T23:50:00.000+00:00Oh, how annoying, you've anticipated one of my nex...Oh, how annoying, you've anticipated one of my next posts in this series, which will look at the prescriptions for evaluation of bridges made by Leonhardt, Menn and others.<BR/><BR/>Personally, as I hope other posts have made clear, I'm a great admirer of Calatrava. Many of his bridges are dreadful, but some are delightful. I admire his abilities as a stylist - I'd love it that more bridge designers had such an identifiable style.<BR/><BR/>I'd quibble only with your comment <I>"and evidence overwhelmingly suggests it does"</I> - I think there is very little evidence that flamboyant landmark bridges repay the sums invested in their creation, and it's something I think would benefit from a serious study. I've no idea how you'd do it though!The Happy Pontisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15252272118786667592noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6470543006314152962.post-60644018280588035372009-02-08T21:08:00.000+00:002009-02-08T21:08:00.000+00:00I am no great lover of Calatrava's work - some is ...I am no great lover of Calatrava's work - some is exceptional, inspirational even, but most is bombastic and ignorant of context - but I applaud his right to design as he wishes and the rights of clients to procure his work. If that is really what they want then who are we to object? So long as these clients are publicly accountable AND held to account. Throughout the bridge design community there is an overcurrent of almost pious antipathy to his work, and that of others whether architects or engineers, which is often described as sculptural, inefficient or irrational. It was Fritz Leonhardt who brought together the notion of ethics and aesthetics as interwoven and inextricable components of (bridge) engineering, leading to the notion that beauty and morality were somehow inevitable in 'efficient' design yet absent in the more flamboyant excesses of the Calatrav-esque. This has been perpetuated for some time and unfortunately not all engineers, or architects, are as gifted as Leonhardt was. Good bridge design does not always mean the same thing to all people and nowadays, increasingly frequently, bridges are used positively by individuals and communities as inspiration for regeneration, growth and progress. Sometimes it needs a gesture of flamboyance or excess to raise the project above the mundane. If this works, and evidence overwhelmingly suggests it does, then arguably a bridge which is not necessarily the most cost-effective can bring much greater reward in terms of direct investment and indirect kudos and publicity. I prefer Leonhardt's bridges to those of Calatrava, but wouldn't the world be really boring if they were all that way...? Vive la difference!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com