Big Four Bridge Proposal By Studio Arne Quinze

Friday, September 26, 2008 by Broken Sidewalk.

Big Four Bridge Proposal (Rendering by Studio Arne Quinze)

Today at the IdeaFestival, Studio Arne Quinze revealed their proposal for transforming the Big Four Bridge into a dynamic art installation weaving itself through the bridge’s iron trusses connecting Jeffersonville and Louisville. Quinze’s installation work is known for its unique construction of linear wooden sticks joined in an apparently chaotic but well informed manner to create large organic and fluid sculptures. The proposal includes solar panels incorporated into the design allowing for nighttime light-plays and music to emanate from the wooden cloud. During the day, the installation will filter sunlight to create the quality of light passing through leaves in a forest. ”It’s a huge project, but I believe in it and it will work,” Quinze said. ”Now the idea is in your camp… I make the idea and now you” must find a way to build it.”

The Big Four Bridge is an abandoned railroad crossing and part of the final phase of Louisville’s Waterfront Park, designed by Hargreaves & Associates. The bridge, built in 1895, will be turned into a pedestrian walkway connecting Kentucky and Indiana. A dramatic sprialing ramp is being built to connect the bridge to ground level in the park. A smaller ramp is being built in Jeffersonville, Indiana. In May of this year, the bridge deck caught fire after an inspection due to faulty wiring of a light fixture. The wooden bridge deck was damaged but the structure was unharmed.

The announcement comes the day after Mark Beasley of public art firm Creative Time lectured to IdeaFestival crowds. Creative Time has just been hired by the City of Louisville’s Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Public Art (MACOPA) to draft a master plan to guide public art throughout the city.

In addition to the cloud sculpture, the proposal lays out a program for the pedestrian walkway of the Big Four Bridge. Quinze envisions a timeline running across the 2,525 foot long bridge detailing possible historical events important to the city’s growth. Earlier this month, DeLeon & Primmer Architecture Workshop revealed their Happy Birthday Pavillion that will sit beneath the bridge and its spiraling ramp.

Studio Arne Quinze has worked on a number of public art installations including Cityscape in Brussels Belgium, the Burning Man Pavillion in the deserts of Death Valley, and proposals for the Galactic Transporter for the Beijing Olympics and Rebirth Pavillion for the Champs Elysees in Paris.