BRIDGE OF PEACE

Maria Antonietta Santangelo

Intelligent construction technology and a simple compositional tradition are the defining design qualities of the Bridge of Peace in Tbilisi. This fully- realized piece is the work of the architect Michele De Lucchi, who, part of AMDL CIRCLE, designed and completed the bridge in just one year. This bridge is autonomous and symbolic, a monument and a metaphor for peace, connection, and coming together. It was needed to connect the oldest district of Bericoni with the more urbanized one of Rikhe, but beyond its pure function, the bridge has created a place that is much more than a crossing point for residents and tourists. It has become an attraction, a place of meeting and social exchange, like a new square. Its seemingly complex, yet inviting, form maintains the symmetry of most historical bridges, but it is the design’s sinuous, fluid movement that lets the structure function.
The roof rests only on the two riverbanks, and it is the roof that supports the 160-meter long pedestrian surface through a system of steel cables. The planned accesses include main ones and secondary ones through four staircases from the riverside. The lattice structure in tubular steel, which was made in Italy and then transported here, is the architecture’s pivotal visual element and becomes a lighted screen in the evening with lighting design as detailed as the bridge.
This was one De Lucchi’s projects from his Georgian period, a major contribution to the dramatic make- over of the city of Tbilisi.