British artist Steve Messem set arched bright red bridge over a small creek in the National Park of the Lake District of Cumbria in the United Kindom, using 22,000 sheets of paper as the material.
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| stevemessam.co.uk |
For someone the Bridge may seem unreal, but it uses the same basic design principles that have been used for the construction of short pedestrian bridges for thousands of years. The project relies on the popular architectural principles that have been applied in the drywall and the original bridge. All these structures have stood for centuries without any damage.
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| trends.archiexpo.com |
The bridge is constructed of a series of "blocks", each of which includes two stacks of 1,000 sheets of paper. Arch span of paper was placed between two pillars which are filled with stones. Between each block special wooden wedges were inserted for sealing the structure before removing the wooden frame. Arch is perfectly calibrated and it has been calculated that the weight of a person, a dog, or even cows was intermingled down on the stone supports.
The bridge is not only protected from the weather - it actually becomes stronger when there is a rain. Paper absorbs water, expands and makes the arch even more robust.
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| amusingplanet.com |
Paper Bridge is a temporary project, which was built by order of the organization of tourism - National Park Cumbria. It will stay for ten days, after which will be dismantled, and the paper will be returned to the manufacturer for recycling. Used stones will be redistributed across the creek area, leaving no trace of the existence of the bridge.