To
Arguis y Monrepós:
for the Sabiñánigo highway
Engineering projects don't always
lend themselves to architectural solutions, often preferring to
reach their functional goals without recurring to considerations
of form which could imply adherence to one or other stylistic tendency.
There are, however, cases like this
polished bridge design over the River lsuela, created by the civil
engi- neer Emilio Monterde, which, despite its reduced size, it
supposes an undeniable addition to the city's architecture from
the world of engineering.
The bridge is made of reinforced
concrete, with a span of 25 metres, seven metres of road and articulated
supports, ahead of its time in contemporary engi- neering. The structure
consists of two parabolic pieces, braced to each other, which carry
the suspended road and the bridge and act as an arched element which
clearly reflects the lines of force involved in the construction.
The bridge replaced the original
Roman one and combines the grace and functional nature of the design,
the revised concept, the system of construction and the modernity
of its decoration. The decoration of sunk counterpoised irises,
placed in the meeting-point of the arches, has been lost but the
bridge has maintained the Modernist effect of its wrought iron railings,
arranged in frames and decorated with natural and geometric motifs.
|
To the construction and set in motion,
of the belt of encirclement of the city of Huesca, this bridge has
completed as almost obliged door of entrance and exit of this capital,
for the traffic destined to Sabiñánigo and Central Pyrenee.
Today, this function is very depleted,
inasmuch the traffic going to Zaragoza avoids the city; but persists
an abundant circulation for the city of Huesca, so much for the
labor thing, as for the leisure. There it is the near industrial
zone, that in punctual moments conditions considerable affluence
(and to congestion); other times, are the hours of return of the
excursion of weekend the ones that bring assembly al Bridge of San
Miguel. This interesting work of engineering, was carried out by
D. Emilio Monterde and it is dated of principles of the century
XX (year 1912). A bridge that goes road to be centennial ..... .....
§§§§§§§§§§----------------
|