Clever Design Brings a New Public Gathering Space on Richard Meier’s Cittadella Bridge

Cittadella Bridge. Alessandria, Italy.

When Alessandria, Italy flooded in 1994, water rose above the roadway of the Napoleonic-era bridge which spanned the Tanaro River. Piers of the bridge trapped debris and amplified the flooding by acting as a dam. This led to calls to replace the bridge, which was already congested and deemed unsafe to accommodate pedestrians. The bridge served an important role in connecting Alessandria’s Piazza Gobetti and the Cittadella- an 18th century fort and citadel tagged for inclusion on Italy’s list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage sites. Pritzker Prize winning architect, Richard Meier, was approached to design a replacement bridge that would bring the infrastructure up to modern standards while revitalizing the city, and assist in preserving its historic sites. After 20 years of delays due to bureaucratic red tape, the new Cittadella Bridge opened in October 2016. Of it’sopening, Meier stated, “More than 20 years after the initial commission to design a new bridge between the city of Alessandria and the old citadel, I am extremely pleased to have completed this new modern link between the past and the future of the city. We hope that this new structure will contribute to the civic life of the local community and to the urban revitalization around the site, the 18th century citadel and Piazza Gobetti.” The new bridge has parallel routes for pedestrians and vehicles separated by a central void. The separate pedestrian walkway has created a unique public plaza for citizens and visitors to gather and interact with the river. Simone Ferracina, Project Manager at Richard Meier and Partners Architects stated, they “relaunched the identity of the city on the international stage, re-articulated the river’s relation to the city’s public space, and reconnected its fabric to the Cittadella fortress”. The new bridge mitigated the old bridge’s problems by sitting above the flood plain and by being suspended across the river. The single-span, tied-arch bridge is 32.5 meters high with the arch leaning away from the road. It incorporates tension cables from which both routes are suspended and it’s anchored in concrete abutments at either end. The vehicular side bows strongly to the north as a counter-balance to the bridge’s arch which is curved to the south. The materials used (precast concrete and painted steel), were chosen for structural strength and durability. Photocatalytic concrete has the ability to break down pollutants and keeps the surfaces clean- minimizing maintenance requirements. The pedestrian side is decked in porfido stone pavers and teak planks, to complement the traditional materials used in the city’s streetscapes and squares. The bridge’s white color allows the bridge to naturally respond to variations in light conditions throughout the day and the seasons. “As in many of our buildings, this project is a composition of volumes and forms,” said Meier, “and at dawn and dusk, and with the change of seasons, light will filter through the structure, providing for particularly animated light conditions.” Meier also stated, “I wanted this project to bring a sense of unity back to Alessandria.” Some of the locals refer to the bridge as “The Meier Bridge”. Meier’s team collaborated with local architects, Dante O. Benini and Partners Architects. Benini is quoted saying, “The real success of the project has not just been bringing people back to the river, but in making the pedestrian part of the bridge the most coveted square in the city, and the most extraordinary place for social gathering for the citizens of Alessandria