Jun. 01, 2011 - Issue #815: Nextfest 2011
Back Words
River lies at the heart
New Walterdale will bridge the gap
This stunning image emerged in my mind after the lecture last Thursday at the AGA by Ken Lum, the lead artist on the design team for the new Walterdale bridge, after he described the city's heart as lying in the middle of the river. "The heart of the city is really the dividing line and the intersecting line, at the same time, between two different cities … it's there, historically, naturally," said Lum. We heard his theory about the bridge as a vantage point for the past as seen through the panorama of both the south and north sides of the city, the other bridges, the legislature building, and the fort, not to mention prehistoric geological time.
The existing Walterdale bridge, Edmonton's most historic crossing, was finished in 1913 and spanned the chasm that separated Edmonton from Strathcona, creating a symbol of our collectivity. The historical significance isn't lost on the city either. In the Walterdale Bridge Project Background published on the City of Edmonton's website, it states, "The Project Team recognizes the importance of the Rossdale area as a focus of community identity and collective heritage and the cultural and spiritual significance of the Fort Edmonton Cemetery and Traditional Burial Ground in particular."
A bridge might be considered a sacred gathering place, whether it sits next to a cemetery or not. According to Heidegger, a bridge gathers to itself the earth and sky, mortals and divinities. Bridges represent the relationship between the surrounding landscape and the air it is suspended in, the people that dwell there and the spirit of the place.
The new Walterdale bridge has the potential to be a bustling hub of the city, at the true heart of the city, even more than say Churchill Square. "The idea of creating a kind of public space over the water as part of the bridge is crucial," said Lum. He proposes that the new bridge speak to futurity, as well as the allegory of traversal and passage. "I'm talking about public space that's not just made up, but a public space that embodies all these different terms." V vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus
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