Bridge

1 Engineered Art “We are in the presence of a work of art only when it has no preponderant instrumental use, and when its technical and rational foundations are not preeminent.”1 The words of George Kubler, a prominent twentieth century art historian, support the notion that art cannot be useful or necessary to society outside of its artistic expression. Kubler’s belief, however, is not solely a contemporary idea. The eighteenth century philosopher, Immanuel Kant, formally proposed this theory. Kant separated fine art from useful art, maintaining that an artist’s goal must be to convey aesthetic ideas through form and design. These ideas are original and creative and therefore have “purpose without a purpose.”2 In short, both Immanuel Kant and George Kubler, even though separated by more than a century, believe that art only exists for the sake of art, without any other functional value to society, and thus anything that possesses utility fails to be art. Initially, we can easily agree with this notion since art does exist in this form. Famous works of art such as Monet’s “Waterlilies” or Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” demonstrate that art exists for art’s sake. These artists express their ideas through form and design, giving the work “purpose without a purpose.” Even though art exists for the sake of artistic expression, we can also find art that defies the philosophy of Immanuel Kant. Bridges exist as art, and thus engineers exist as artists. Although bridges stand as feats of engineering that perform the task of connection, bridges also display great beauty. Undoubtedly, beautiful bridges evoke an array of emotions from observers, much the same as an inspired painting, and thus offer warnings that Kubler’s statement 2 has its faults. Specifically, we can look at the works of Othmar Ammann, who used New York City as a museum for his many masterpieces of structural design, including the George Washington Bridge. Built upon rational and technical foundations, the George Washing Bridge possesses inherent utility, while also standing as a beautiful work of art. Although all of Othmar Ammann’s bridges, which include the George Washington Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, and several others, were built in America, Ammann was born and educated in Switzerland. Switzerland’s Federal Polytechnic Institute in Zurich has produced an amazing number of notable bridge engineers, considering Switzerland’s small size. The Federal Polytechnic Institute shaped the century’s two most influential and accomplished bridge designers in Othmar Ammann, who was a master in steel, and Robert Maillart, a genius in concrete bridge design.3 Recent graduates, such as Christian Menn and Santiago Calatrava, continue to lead the way in creative bridge design. Switzerland’s distinguished tradition in bridge design is rooted in the influences of France and Germany. Switzerland blends the detailed scientific analysis of German engineering and the lightness and elegance of French design to engineer efficient, yet artistic, bridges. This synthesis drives the design of Othmar Ammann’s bridges. After finishing college with a civil engineering degree in 1902, Ammann sailed to the United States well prepared to search for the American dream and international recognition. In 1912, Ammann went to work for Gustav Lindenthal, who, at the time, was America’s foremost bridge engineer. For eleven years Ammann worked closely with Lindenthal, gaining tremendous experience and knowledge of steel bridge design and construction. Keeping true to his German heritage, Lindenthal focused on the scientific 3 rigor of his bridges, while also having a concern for aesthetic expression. Ammann made the most of his opportunity of working with Lindenthal, quickly becoming an accomplished engineer himself. Over time, with the combination of his Swiss education in engineering and the experience gained working under Lindenthal, Ammann was prepared to find large-scale success on his own, as a bridge engineer. Before long, Ammann surpassed his former employer and staked his claim as America’s leading bridge engineer. Between 1924 and 1933, Ammann designed the most remarkable set of bridges ever completed by one man in such a short time. Not only did Ammann complete two cantilever truss bridges, the Goethals Bridge and the Outerbridge Crossing, over the Kill van Kull, but he also completed the George Washington suspension bridge and the Bayonne arch bridge, both of which represented the longest spanning bridge of its type. Over the next 33 years Ammann designed and built the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge, the Triborough Bridge, the Throgs Neck Bridge, and finally his last masterpiece, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in 1964.4 The New York harbor stands as an open-air display of Ammann’s vast array of bridge design excellence. Considering the sheer volume and magnificence of his work, one can easily argue that Ammann was the greatest designer of steel bridges of the century and perhaps ever. Even though Ammann’s George Washington Bridge set a new record and, in doing so, challenged the limits of engineering innovation, the significance of this structure lies in its aesthetic appeal. The bridge spans 3,500 feet over the Hudson River, connecting New York and New Jersey, not only serves the area as a transportation link but also stands as a steel monument and a gateway to New York. The bridge’s massive steel towers stand firmly on each side of the Hudson riverbank. Near the base of the towers, 4 the slender steel highway deck glides out above the water almost endlessly until the bridge’s second tower finally brings it ashore. Steel cables stand firmly in tension, like an inverted arch, suspending the deck safely across this immense passageway over the river. The bridge’s steel construction magnifies its powerful stature. Steel’s high strength and stiffness empowered engineers of the time to create bridges once thought impossible. Ammann took full advantage of this new material because never before were steel towers so prominent, while the bridge deck runs so slender and long. As Ammann explains, “The monumental effect must be produced by harmony of mass and lines, and not by ornamentation.”5 Here we realize that Ammann used steel to efficiently carry loads, while also utilizing steel to carry his aesthetic ideas. Ammann truly created a work of art that symbolized the progress and the strength of technological advancement. In doing so, Ammann stays true to steel’s nature and performance. The steel performs its work efficiently, with a minimum amount of material. This minimalism not only lowers the bridge’s cost, but it also appeals to the eye, with its smooth, elegant appearance. By using the latest engineering advancements, Ammann stretches the limits of engineering while also providing the thin, slender aesthetic quality desired in bridges. Ammann consciously designed beauty into the bridge, just as he would design the bridge to carry loads, thus serving as both artist and engineer. At the time, the slenderness of the deck was almost mystifying, as it seemed impossible that the bridge would carry such loads safely. The innovations and applications of technology helped make the bridge the work of art that it is. In addition to engineering and aesthetic considerations, the bridge’s massive towers were also a product of the economic situation in which they were erected. 5 Ammann intended these steel arch towers, which are characterized by a logical repetition of truss work, to be clad in stone and concrete as a tribute to the beauty of New York’s most famous bridge, the Brooklyn Bridge designed by John Roebling. Ammann believed the Brooklyn Bridge towers to be “a magnificent example of the old massive masonry type, unquestionably the one most pleasing to the eye.”6 Because of the economic constraints resulting from the 1929 stock market crash, however, the steel towers were left unclad. Fortunately, the critics and the public embraced the striking steel towers, and thus the bridge was a great success. The economic depression, which, at first, seemed to hinder the bridge, worked to produce the George Washington Bridge’s enduring favor and fame. Because the towers were designed to carry the stone and concrete facade, but remained uncovered, the towers have a unique style that has never been repeated. Not only did the critics and public applaud the structural and aesthetic magnificence of the bridge, but architects also joined in with praise. LeCorbusier, one of the most successful and influential architects of the 20th century proclaimed, “The George Washington Bridge over the Hudson is the beautiful bridge in the world…it is blessed. It is the only seat of grace in the disordered city.”7 Considering the technical achievements, inherent utility and widespread aesthetic appeal that culminate in the George Washington Bridge, we can analyze George Kubler’s presumption with a healthy dose of skepticism. Undoubtedly, a bridge structure provides utility. In simple terms, the George Washington Bridge enables passage over the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. Further, the technical and rational foundations support the design of the bridge. Othmar Ammann utilized the latest technology and theory of structural analysis to make, in 1931, the George Washington 6 Bridge the longest and most slender bridge ever built. Ammann’s vast application of steel in the towers, bridge deck, and suspension cables, utilized the many assets that the novel material of steel brings to bridge design and construction. Before we completely discard Kubler’s view of art, however, we must prove that Ammann’s George Washington Bridge can be classified as art. Most works of art possess characteristics that separate them from objects that do not qualify as art. A work of art must have unity and balance, emphasis, a sense of scale, and impact.8 A piece of artwork must carry unity throughout its composition. The George Washington Bridge achieves unity through repetition and continuity. An observer feels the continuity in the sense that one must inherently follow the entire bridge with the eye. The repetition of the suspension cables gradually leads the observer throughout the bridge, while also unifying and completing the bridge. At no place is the bridge visually disjoint or incomplete, but rather the eye smoothly follows the entire structure. In the same respect, the bridge is balanced. Ammann used symmetry to not only balance the loads applied to the structure, but also to balance the visual effect, allowing the bridge to be visually read as a unified whole, instead of fragmented parts. The George Washington Bridge’s explicit balance and unity help express its artistic quality. While using repetition to convey unity, Ammann used contrasts to emphasize the primary structural components of the bridge. Always having admired the “early English suspension bridges with their general simple appearance, their flat catenary, light, graceful, suspended structure, and their massive and, therefore monumental towers,”9 Ammann followed this design mentality. In doing so, Ammann sharply contrasted the large, heavy towers with a slender, light deck held in suspension by thin strands of steel, 7 emphasizing both bridge elements. The immense towers radiate strength and stature, while the slim deck connotes elegance and flight. This contradiction of form serves the bridge’s aesthetic appeal very well, as the viewer can marvel at both the bridge’s tremendous size and conversely its surprising lightness. Whether we consider the George Washington Bridge’s dominant towers or long roadway, the bridge’s overall large scale enhances its appeal. People tend to appreciate artwork done on unusually large or small scales, and the George Washington Bridge is no exception. Undoubtedly the bridge's 3500-foot span and high towers add visual appeal, as well as artistic merit. Ammann worked meticulously to ensure the bridge maintains unity and proper expression throughout its enormous composition. The bridge’s scale classifies it as a monument of the New York harbor. Although scale, emphasis, unity and balance clearly exist in the George Washington Bridge, the true test of artwork comes from the impact it creates on its viewers. Art must induce a reaction in its observer to be truly appreciated and classified as art. There are several different ways that the George Washington Bridge affects the common observer. First, the bridge’s large scale attracts profound attention. One cannot help but notice and wonder at its extreme dimensions. Next, the explicit nature of steel structures give the viewer a revealing look at how the structure functions. Clearly, Ammann used long thin lines mixed with strong towers of steel, to utilize the limits of engineering principles, while also adding visual interest to the work. Lastly, as in any bridge, an experience of procession occurs as a traveler moves across its pathway. As one traverses the George Washington Bridge, the bridge creates an environment all its own. Once upon its passageway, one can experience the wonder of being suspended above water and also 8 descending back to the solid ground again. The procession exists as a quick transformation in one’s physical reality. Most people take this experience for granted, but it is, indeed, a unique experience. This procession exists as a spectacle and experience that truly affects the viewer as few works of art can. A bridge is a work of art that you can experience. LeCorbusier put his experience into words when he wrote, “When your car moves up the ramp the two towers rise so high that it brings you happiness; their structure is so pure, so resolute, so regular that here, finally, steel architecture seems to laugh.”10 Ultimately, since the George Washington Bridge qualifies as art, while also utilizing rational and technical foundations to perform a useful function, we can easily disprove George Kubler’s belief. His shortsightedness denies the existence of the art and beauty that surrounds us everyday. Herein lies the biggest tragedy. To limit art to such a small sample of the creative prospects offered by the world only serves to diminish the experience of aesthetic pleasure. Instead, people can and do appreciate works like the George Washington Bridge, which offer artistic value, while still providing a service to society. Art can be found all around us; however, art is lost without people willing to embrace and appreciate it. In all actuality, art, as its primary purpose, serves to enrich our lives, but only brings pleasure to those who choose to see it.