Zaha Hadid (Works in Spain)
Introduction
The Bridge Pavilion was one of the main buildings at Expo 2008 in Zaragoza (Spain). Designed by the British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, it connects the right bank of the river with the Expo site. Its plan is shaped like a gladiolus, it is covered and housed exhibition rooms on sustainable water management.
Characteristics
It is an impressive and innovative horizontal building, the main entrance to the International Exhibition dedicated to Water that was held in Zaragoza in the summer of 2008.
The bridge has been designed by Zaha Hadid. This Pritzker Prize-winning architect of Iraqi origin has defined the project as one of the most important of her career. The structure aims to imitate a gladiolus lying over the Ebro River and has a length of 270 meters.
Arup was the company in charge of the engineering of the original project and later modified by Fhecor Ingenieros Consultores to adapt it to the construction process adopted by the UTE. The construction work was the responsibility of the joint venture formed by Dragados and Urssa, which were awarded all phases of execution, foundations, structure, façade, installations and interior finishes.[1][2].
The innovative structure starts out thin in the La Almozara neighborhood to gain width as it approaches the left bank. The construction of this bridge building has given rise to enormous technical difficulties, the solution of which has brought the completion times of the work to critical levels.
The peculiarity that the bridge has only two secondary supports on both banks and one main support supported on a nearby (natural island in the bed of a river), together with the instability of the river soils of Zaragoza, has led to the obligation to build foundations that have shattered any depth record for piling in Spain (70 meters). The construction of these foundations has increased the costs and deadlines of the project, which were originally estimated at 25 million euros and 2 years, but which finally tripled this amount.[3][4].
The construction method is worth highlighting, since the structure was built on dry land to, once completed, move it to its final location on the Ebro riverbed. This means moving a 140-meter, 2,200-ton structure for 123 longitudinal and 9 lateral meters without using any intermediate support. The spectacular “launch” of the construction of the bridge began on October 22, 2007, with the presence of the Vice President of the Government, María Teresa Fernández de la Vega, and the mayor of Zaragoza, Juan Alberto Belloch. Its estimated duration was 1 hour and it constitutes an unparalleled milestone in Spanish engineering.