A little story and a lot of weight needs support.

Dear Architecture & Design Community,
my name is André Quirinus Zurbriggen, I am an artist, art mediator and I am living in Brig, Switzerland. My basic education is electrician. I studied at the Valais University of Art in Sierre and Solothurn, Switzerland (Master of Arts) in “Art Education”.

The name of our village Brig means “bridge”, because it can only be reached across the bridges over two rivers, the Saltina and Rhone. My current project is called “zur-brigga” and is a disused iron steel bridge over the Rhône in Brig. The bridge connects the communities of Naters and Brig and is to be revived as an art and meeting place as well as a cultural hotspot for tourists. Bridges connect, bridges cross borders. It is an ideal place to show art and meet each other. Symbolically, it is a challenge for any artist who not only wants to exhibit art, but also wants to build a bridge between the viewer and the work of art.

From 1912 to 2010 – almost a century – the bridge carried thousands of train travelers safely across the Rhône. Today it is no longer needed and is waiting to be revived. This steel monument is riveted together like an old liner and of the same vintage as the Titanic. However, the bridge has not yet sunk. My primary concern is to save the old bridge from sinking. The flood safety regulations require a 2 meter elevation, or demolition is imminent. According to agreement, it is possible to lift the 265 tons’ bridge on each side with a hydraulic heavy-duty jack, in order to prepare the concrete base.
The project shows, a new concrete ramp on either side solves the flood problem and tempt the bridge a proud and dignified look.
The cooperation with engineers from various construction sectors was a success and confirmed the possibility of implementing the “zur-brigga” project.

In 2017, I published a newspaper report. Under the title“The bridge is a monument“. I talked about, how to create a landmarks sight out of ¼ million kilos of scrap iron, but I didn’t talk about the fact, that each kilo costs 6 Swiss Franc, compared to the implementation costs. That’s a lot of money, but reason enough to enter your competition to gain attention.

Many thanks for the assessment. With kind regards.

André Quirinus Zurbriggen

Appendix:

5x Competition sheets
1. Newspaper report – translation from original German into English “The bridge is a monument”
2. Situation plan – the bridge as an important element of an existing cultural complex “Red Mile”
3. Object plan – west and east view and massing
4. Construction detail plan and offer – glass, wood paneling and concrete base
5. Under “my” bridge – a funny philosophical interlude all around the bridge

1x Project cover image

1x Studio and 1x project logo. The project has its own logo, zur – brigga

1x Designer Photo