Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project, Wooden footbridge in Ås, Norway
The Vebjørn Sand Da Vinci Project is a wooden footbridge in Ås, Norway, that spans the E18 highway. Three parallel arches made of laminated timber support the 108-meter construction.
Leonardo da Vinci designed a bridge for the Golden Horn in Istanbul in 1502 that was never constructed. This project in Ås brought his design to life for the first time in 2001, though at a different scale and using different materials.
Artist Vebjørn Sand discovered Leonardo's original sketches at a Stockholm exhibition in 1995 and worked to turn them into a working footbridge. The design originally intended for stone arches now takes form through laminated timber technology.
The bridge connects both sides of the E18 highway and sits about 33 feet (10 meters) above the roadway. Pedestrians and cyclists can use it to cross the busy road safely.
The bridge is the first built realization of a da Vinci bridge design anywhere in the world. The longest free arch spans 131 feet (40 meters) without intermediate support.
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