Temporary Bridge
Gijs Van Vaerenbergh
CONSTRUCTORS
Sarens Group & Van Der Spek
DEVELOPERS
Festival Kanal & Architecture Workroom Brussels
ENGINEER
Util Struktuurstudies
PHOTOGRAPHS
Jeroen Verrecht , Tim Van De Velde
YEAR
2014
LOCATION
Brussels, Belgium
CATEGORY
Pedestrian Bridge
Text description provided by architect.
Bridge was a temporary site-specific installation, being part of the Playground Kanal city festival.
This festival focuses on the canal zone in Brussels and tries through a series of activities to transform this border line, both socially and spatially, into a binding element.
The organisation initially invited Gijs Van Vaerenbergh for the design of a scenography for the festival talking place at the B-post building, situated on the axis of the North railway station and the site of Tour & Taxis.
However, they proposed the construction a temporary pedestrian bridge, physically embodying the ambitions of the festival, namely creating a connection between both sides of the canal.
This intervention took place on the exact same location where for many years procedures have been running to construct a permanent bridge, but without results because of the complexity of the administrative and political context.
The temporary bridge of Gijs Van Vaerenbergh can be put in relation to earlier projects, experimenting with the unconventional use of building cranes.
For ‘Bridge’ the artist duo stripes the typical cranes of their functional usage and place them horizontal over the canal.
A connection is made between the North station and Picard Street, and between the festival centre and other lively spots in the city. Right on the epicentre in-between the city of Brussels and its harbour.
