The Bambuco Bridge was a temporary outdoor sculpture

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

 in the form of a simple suspension bridge

Simple suspension bridge

A simple suspension bridge is an early type of bridge that is supported entirely from anchors at either end, and has no towers or piers. However, it may have saddles...

 spanning the River Tyne

River Tyne

The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, made entirely from bamboo wood. The public art

Public art

The term public art properly refers to works of art in any media that have been planned and executed with the specific intention of being sited or staged in the physical public domain, usually outside and accessible to all...

 was designed and built for the SummerTyne festival, part of the NewcastleGateshead

NewcastleGateshead

NewcastleGateshead is a brand-name associated with the joint promotion of culture, business and tourism within the conurbation formed by Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. With the use of printed matter and a web-site, the organisation produces, assembles activities and information into effective...

 initiative.

History

The 'bridge' was only a sculpture and could not be used for human or vehicular transport. The sculpture opened for its three day run at 10:00am on 18 July 2008, and closed on 20 July; the opening coincided with the start of the ten day SummerTyne festival. There was a light show at 21:00 on 18 July to officially mark the occasion. After the three day period, the bridge was dismantled in late July.

Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead commissioned the Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n based firm Bambuco to create the bridge sculpture from 20 tonnes (in 800 pieces) of bamboo in 2008, the 80th anniversary of the construction of the Tyne Bridge. The sculpture's construction started in late June 2008. It was located between the Tyne Bridge

Tyne Bridge

The Tyne Bridge is a through arch bridge over the River Tyne in North East England, linking Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead. It was designed by the engineering firm Mott, Hay and Anderson, who later designed the Forth Road Bridge, and was built by Dorman Long and Co. of Middlesbrough. At the time...

 and the Gateshead Millennium Bridge

Gateshead Millennium Bridge

The Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a pedestrian and cyclist tilt bridge spanning the River Tyne in England between Gateshead's Quays arts quarter on the south bank, and the Quayside of Newcastle upon Tyne on the north bank. The award-winning structure was conceived and designed by architects...

 and spanned 120 m (393.7 ft) across the river, at a height of 25 m (82 ft). The sculpture—which had its legs next to the HMS Calliope

HMS Calliope (shore establishment)

HMS Calliope is a training centre and 'stone frigate' of the Royal Naval Reserve, located in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear.-History:A Tyne-based division of the Royal Naval Reserve was established in 1905, and used the old Calypso class third class cruiser HMS Calliope as its drill ship...

 on the Gateshead bank and the law courts on the Newcastle bank—was also at a slight angle across the river. The founder of Bambuco, Simon Barley had the initial idea of a bamboo bridge over the Tyne, but died in 2007 before the project could be undertaken; Bambuco toyed with calling this bridge the Bridge of Si’s, a play on Venice

Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...

’s Bridge of Sighs

Bridge of Sighs

The Bridge of Sighs is a bridge in Venice, northern Italy . The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone and has windows with stone bars. It passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms in the Doge's Palace...

.

External links

• Bambuco
• Bamboo bridge at Newcastle City Council
  Newcastle City Council
  Newcastle City Council is the local government authority for Newcastle upon Tyne, a city in Tyne and Wear, England. The council consists of 78 councillors, three for each of the city's 26 wards...
  
  
• Bamboo Bridge feature at BBC Tyne
• Opening night image gallery at Journal Live