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PROJECT FOR
THE HENRIQUEZ BRIDGE
/ COPIAPÓ (CHILE)
/ 1999–2000
This 200-metre metal bridge, built from separate ele-
ments and with an average span of 30 metres, was
designed for Chile’s bicentennial. It straddles the River
Copiapó, whose alternately high waters and near
drought conditions are fairly typical in this part of
the world. The bridge is designed like a contemporary
version of the Ponte Vecchio in Florence and many
other bridges that, long ago, were home to a variety
of different uses. In this case, it would accommodate
foot and motorised traffic, a music school and a mar-
ket; in addition, it would be used to open up a large
urban aggregation. It occupies the site with authority,
elegance and lightness (despite an average height of
about 15 metres). The metal from which it is built would
have been salvaged from former copper mines nearby.
The decking consists of wooden ties from the first rail-
way line in South America, which ran between Copiapó
and Caldera. Finally, an artificial lake provides water on a
year-round basis, as the phenomenon of evaporation is
fairly rare in this area.