Comments on: Play it again, Santiago Calatrava: Jerusalem’s Bridge of Strings

By: barry gilbert

barry gilbert — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:24:34 +0000

the bridge might look good crossing the upper reaches of the Orinoco river but it looks out of place in jerusalem. and the road it crosses is not that big… a couple of roman arches in jerusalem stone would have looked better

By: Ziva

Ziva — Wed, 28 May 2008 19:29:08 +0000

Couldn’t have said it better myself, dear readers. Driving underneath the bridge the other day, I was truly taken aback by the magnitude and beauty of the bridge. And I think that’s the whole point – especially in Jerusalem.

By: zevan

zevan — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:02:31 +0000

The artist/photographer who goes by the name of “Harry” has truely captured the essence of this bridge. It’s beauty and it’s flaws.
What else can you tell us about this “Harry”
and where else can we view his photographs.
What galleries is he showing in ?

By: reader

reader — Sat, 03 May 2008 07:12:25 +0000

Play it again and again and again, Santiago Calatrava. Calatrava has designed more than a dozen bridges in places all over the world, including a very similar-looking footbridge between Beilinson hospital and a mall in Petach Tikva. Doesn’t the main gateway to Jerusalem deserve something more unique? In my opinion, the old hedge at the city’s entrance that was trimmed to spell out Bruchim Habaim L’Yerushalaim had more local character than this expensive paean to Architectural Digest. For all its historical and religious glory, Jerusalem is at bottom a humble city known for its residents’ modest ways of life and architecture that is inspired by the surrounding stone hills.

Calatrava’s bridges are usually built over more inspiring scenery than the stretch of asphalt between the Central Bus Station and Kiryat Moshe (the footbridge over Jabotinsky St. in Petach Tikva is an exception). While the chord bridge will no doubt become a new emblem for Jerusalem, it will probably register as only a minor addition in Calatrava’s own portfolio.

Then there’s the question of its price. After cost overruns, the estimated cost of the bridge is 300 million NIS. That’s a lot of money for Israel’s poorest city, especially when you consider that the bridge will only carry the light rail train.

By: nikki

nikki — Thu, 01 May 2008 15:54:21 +0000

i love the bridge. yes, j’lem is an ancient city with more than enough history to rival any european or asian city, but it is also the capital of a young, vibrant, forward-looking nation and there is no reason not to inject a bit of modernity into the city. i love the juxtaposition of new against old, and this contrast represents very much who we are as a people and as a country.