The project to build a new footbridge linking the Tuileries and Anatole France quays aims to provide pedestrians with a pleasant walk between two of the capital\u2019s flagship institutions: the Louvre and the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Orsay. The new structure is to replace the \u2018temporary\u2019 bridge that had replaced the old Solferino Bridge, built under Napoleon III. This prestigious project is the subject of a design competition involving eight teams, including several leading figures in contemporary architecture such as Calatrava and Fuksas.<\/p>\n
The project led by Vandenhove and his team \u2013 which includes visual artists Daniel Buren and the couple Anne and Patrick Poirier \u2013 aims first and foremost to establish a link with the very prominent historical and heritage context. Vandenhove\u2019s proposal incorporates a consideration of the quality of public spaces that extends beyond the footbridge to the quays, infusing the area with the atmosphere of a promenade-cum-spectacle. For whilst both ends of the bridge form part of the continuity of the \u2018upper\u2019 quays, the challenge is also to ensure access to the lower quays, which serve as promenades for this Paris \u2018rediscovering its river\u2019. Vandenhove retains the old staircases built on the right bank under Napoleon III but adds, at each end, a staircase within the footbridge\u2019s plane. On the left bank, the old abutment is rebuilt within the plane of the quay wall but is pierced to clear the view for walkers arriving from the Tuileries Garden.<\/p>\n
The choice of materials reflects Vandenhove\u2019s desire to ensure the structure blends modestly into the landscape. The abutments and piers are made of stone, whilst the deck of the 9-metre-wide footbridge is made of steel. Between the two, ball joints designed by the architect connect the piers to the deck.<\/p>\n
True to his convictions, Vandenhove called upon several visual artists with whom he had previously worked. For the glass balustrades, Daniel Buren proposed engraving alternating thin stripes that echoed the pattern of the footbridge\u2019s girders. As for Anne and Patrick Poirier\u2019s proposal, it was based on the construction of three bronze obelisk-like spires: two on the Orsay side, and the third on the Tuileries side. The couple also envisaged, at each end of the footbridge, a row of wooden plinths displaying some remnants of the old bridge. The competition was ultimately won by the French engineer Marc Mimram, and the footbridge was officially opened in 1999.<\/p>\n
Guest artists: Daniel Buren, Anne & Patrick Poirier.<\/p>\n
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