Reportage on a symbol of rebirth after the Yugoslav wars of the 90s, beautiful but also contested
The Ada bridge in Belgrade wins an originality award because it is the only one (we exaggerate) to which the Italian construction giants have not given a project and construction contribution, alone or in consortium – but we bet that at least some Italian supplier or subcontractor was involved. It celebrates ten years, even if in reality in January 2012 when it was inaugurated it did not yet have all the road connections.
… and the Ada bridge in full daylight
For Belgrade, bridges are important not only for their practical function but also as symbols, given that in the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s for Bosnia and Kosovo, the first targets of NATO bombings on Belgrade and the rest of Serbia were the bridges. and viaducts, to disrupt land transport.
This bridge is “cable-stayed”, that is supported by stays, which are very large steel tie rods; in the case of Ada they branch off from a single central pylon placed on a small island on the Sava river. In itself, the structure is beautiful, but it has aroused both acclaim and controversy, because it really imposes itself on the sight and in someone’s judgment it ruins the landscape. On the other hand, there are those who argue that there is little to ruin: in reference to the capital of Serbia, the judgment of the architect Le Corbusier circulates according to which “Belgrade is the ugliest city in the world” (but he added: “in the position more beautiful”).
A glimpse of Belgrade, which Le Corbusier called “the ugliest city in the world in the most beautiful position”
Having seen it on site, we break a spear for the Ada bridge, and also (in a completely different city) for another bridge that has given rise to controversy, namely that of Calatrava in Venice: its semitransparent structure slightly reduces the visual impact, and the fact that its architectural style is unambiguously detached from that of the environment in which it is inserted excludes any misunderstanding; but this is just an opinion.
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