Puente de la Mujer
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Santiago Calatrava

In Argentina’s capital, Santiago Calatrava gracefully combines a pivoting span with a single-pylon suspension system

© Alan Karchmer/Esto

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By Sarah Amelar

Though many of Santiago Calatrava’s bridges—nearly 40 built so far—feature inclined pylons or arched forms, each example pushes the limits of structural ingenuity and sculptural grace in a different way. This architect/engineer has repeatedly reinvented the possibilities for asymmetrical, single-pylon, cable-stayed suspension systems—most recently with the pivoting Puente de la Mujer at Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires.

In 1992, Buenos Aires launched an ambitious and strategic city-planning initiative to reclaim its neglected waterfront—focusing in part on the late-19th-century port of Puerto Madero. The city’s phased plan for this district encompasses the preservation of existing warehouses and wharves; the creation of a mixed-use complex with museums, art galleries, and university facilities; and the erection of five new bridges, including the Puente de la Mujer by Calatrava. Here, he needed to span 525 feet across the Rio de la Plata, providing a pedestrian crossing and linking plazas on either embankment while retaining full access by water to a nearby dock.

Although Calatrava has designed a wide range of kinetic structures in the past—including the Milwaukee Art Museum [Record, March 2002, page 92]—the Puente de la Mujer marks his first integration of a rotating span with an inclined, singe-pylon suspension system. Set between fixed segments, the 335-foot-long central span of the Buenos Aires bridge can turn 90 degrees to allow tall boat traffic to flow freely.

Dynamic in its sharp, arrowlike precision, the pylon, holding taut rungs of cables, reaches a height of 128 feet. Its great triangulating V-form leads with a crescendo from the axis of a major avenue, gesturing toward the new, higher part of the city on the opposite bank. The cable-strung V forms an acute angle in the structure, with concrete inserted as counterweight just behind its apex. The resulting silhouette, supporting a wood-planked pedestrian walkway, appears remarkably minimal and deceptively simple.

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Formal name of Project:
Puente de la Mujer

Location:
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Measurements:
Total length: 525 ft.
Central rotating span: 335 ft.
Width of deck: 16.4 ft.
Height of pylon: 128 ft.
Gross square footage: 8,611 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$5 Million

Owner:
Grupo González, S.A.

Architect:
Santiago Calatrava S.A.
Parkring 11
8002 Zurich, Switzerland
(41) 01-204-5000 (telephone)
(41) 01-204-5001 (fax)