Ponte do Saber, Cable-stayed bridge at Ilha do Fundão, Brazil
Ponte do Saber is a cable-stayed bridge in Guanabara Bay linking the mainland to the Ilha da Cidade Universitária, home of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Its 11.30-metre-wide deck is held by 21 stay cables attached to a single 96-metre pylon. Architect Alexandre Chan, who designed its formal-structural scheme, noted that the shape unintentionally recalls a biguá, a local cormorant.
The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro opened this bridge in 2012 as a key connection to its campus. Built from concrete and steel cables, it marked an important moment for the island's urban development.
Architect Alexandre Chan, responsible for the bridge's formal-structural design, said its shape recalls a biguá, a cormorant, though this was not intentional. Since its 2012 opening the bridge has been treated as a new postcard of Rio de Janeiro.
The bridge carries the Red Line expressway link to the UFRJ campus on Ilha do Fundão, so it is a road crossing for vehicles, not a pedestrian route; the sources record no footway. Cross by car or bus and treat the 96-metre pylon and 21 cables as views from the roadway.
The bridge's name, Bridge of Knowledge, directly references its purpose as a link between the university and the city. This makes it more than simple infrastructure, turning it into a symbol with deliberate meaning.
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