Shasta County, California
Redding, Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay
The Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay is an extraordinary work of practical art. Designed by Santiago Calatrava Valls, it is sometimes billed as the world's largest sundial. Whether that is a valid claim or not, it is certainly a dramatic way to tell time and it is not even terribly important that it is only accurate one day a year (Summer Solstice). In more pedestrian terms, the bridge serves as a way to cross the Sacramento River for hikers and bicycle riders. It is thus an important link in the city's riverside trail system. There is a beautiful flower garden at one end of the bridge and the Turtle Bay Museum is located at the other end. The bridge is well worth a visit.
Calatrava was born in Valencia, Spain, and studied architecture in the Polytechnic University of Valencia. On graduation, he went on to get his doctorate in civil engineering in the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland. He wrote his doctoral thesis on the feasibility of space frames. Since graduation, he has taken this architectural concept farther than anyone before him. Relying on the inherent stability and strength of the triangle, the use of space frames permits the construction of highly unusual structures. The Sundial Bridge is, in fact, one of the least unusual of Calatrava's designs. My vote for that honor is the Turning Torso. This exotic apartment/office building twists impossibly fifty four stories into the sky above the city of Malmo, Sweden. (I admire the sangfroid of those that live and work there.)
The idea for the construction of a bridge across the Sacramento River in Redding originated in the last decade of the twentieth century when the city budgeted $3 million to cover it's cost. In 1996, Calatrava was selected to design the structure and the cost began escalating. The bridge was completed in 2004 at a cost of $23.5 million. Understandably, the cost overrun stimulated considerable controversy with some claiming that it has increased tourism to Redding while others decry the waste of resources. The structure is indeed somewhat incongruous in the Northern California countryside, but it is, to exactly the same degree, unique. It is not like anything else that you are going to find in this part of the world. Curiosity alone makes it worth a visit.
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