Erasmus Bridge

<p>This publication presents UNStudio’s Erasmus Bridge, a large-scale infrastructural project in Rotterdam that saw innovative use of digital files as tools for design and sites of communication.</p> <p>The City of Rotterdam commissioned UNStudio, led by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, to design a bridge over the River Maas in 1991. The challenge of the project was to engage the infrastructural constraints and scale with a design commensurate with the project’s civic and public significance. The architects collaborated using digital 3D computer-aided design and manufacturing models transferred between a team of engineers and construction contractors. A constant exchange of 3D files made the digital material the site of dialogue: the AutoCAD file was the point of departure for design, engineering and manufacturing. For example, a staircase for the bridge landing designed in AutoCAD was translated to a printed construction drawing, studied and annotated by City engineers and then returned to the architects.</p> <p>As part of a multiyear project that includes three exhibitions on twenty-five seminal projects, the CCA and Greg Lynn are publishing a series of digital publications recording conversations with key architects. The epubs are heavily illustrated with photos, drawings, renderings, videos, PDFs and interactive 3D models.</p>