The Ring Shaped Laguna Garzon Bridge in Uruguay

The modern day’s technique of building bridges is really awesome, because engineers and architects always looks something unique to benefit public. They don’t rely on shortest possible crossing. The new ring shaped bridge across Laguna Garzon in Uruguay’s Southern Coast is perfect example of marvelous engineering. It is located near popular resorts Punta del Este and José Ignacio home to a new development of concrete holiday homes by Adamo-Faiden.

It’s a concrete bridge, consists of two semi-circular bridges, attached at either end to make a ring and was built to replace a raft crossing between the cities of Rocha and Maldonado. Therefore, the stunning circular design and its architect Rafael Vinoly have a perfectly logical and functional explanation. One of best known designer of London's Walkie Talkie building, which was nicknamed Walkie Scorchie after the glare from its curvy glass facade, melted the bodywork of nearby cars. The bridge used more than 450 tons of formed steel 40,000 meters of post tensioned cables and over 3,500 cubic meters of concrete, has proved controversial provoking protests from environmental groups.

Normally, it is common behavior, drivers gets speed the car when they crossing the straight bridge, however this curved design will push drivers to slow down the speed of their cars. Moreover, the curve bridge provides the opportunity to relish the panoramic views of adjacent landscapes. The magnificent aerial view offers an exclusive scene of engineering marvel. Furthermore, they’ve also taken care of pedestrian with a lovely walkway. Before the bridge, it was a narrow escape for cars, because the raft crossing is allowed only two cars to cross at a time.

Although, the raft operated only at certain times of the day, and during stormy/windy days it remained closed. Moreover the meager connection has kept the region of Rocha away from more developments compared to what Maldonado has been experiencing in the last decades. Moreover, the new bridge lets easy the way of some 1,000 vehicles to cross the lagoon, and is expected to help drive the development of Rocha’s coastline. The Laguna Garzon Bridge took a year to complete and opened in late 2015.

The Hand of Punta del Este

The Hand of Punta del Este, or Mano de Punta del Este, is a sculpture of a hand partially formed with sand and located at Brava Beach in the famous resort town of Punta del Este, in Uruguay.  Chilean artist Marion Irarrazabal made this sculpture and unveiled during the summer of 1982, while he was attending the first annual International Meeting of Modern Sculpture in the Open Air in Punta del Este. The sculpture has since become a symbol for Punta del Este and is one of Uruguay's most recognizable landmarks. Over the years the sculpture came to be called by different names such as Emergiendo a la Vida (Man Emerging into Life), Monumento los Dedos (Monument of the Fingers), and Monumento al Ahogado (Monument to the Drowned), although the creator prefers it to be called simply “the Hand”. Mario Irarrázabal was the youngest of the nine sculptors who were invited to attend the inaugural edition of the International Meeting of Modern Sculpture in the Open Air.

Therefore, during that summer, the seafront turned into a kind of outdoor workshop where artists from several countries gathered and initiated to give shape to what they had in mind. Mario Irarrázabal arrived with a scale model of the hand but he had to improvise the rest of the procedure while facing natural hindrances such as the sand and the wind. Unluckily, a conflict arose among the participating sculptors about the places assigned on a public square. Though the others argued, Mario Irarrázabal quietly took his creation to the beach. He was very passionate about his work, and he just finished his work in just 6 days.

Thus, the massive hand is made of concrete reinforced with steel bars, and metal mesh, and covered with a degradation-resistant material. His magnificent sculpture became an instant hit earning him worldwide praise. It’s the only sculpture from the exhibition, hosted over two decades ago, that come to an end to sit on the beach these days. Moreover, it gives fantastic opportunity to tourists who has been photographed by thousands of tourists and has appeared on countless postcards and magazines. Mario Irarrázabal later made similar to exact replicas of the sculpture for the city of Madrid in 1987, in the Atacama Desert in Chile in 1992, and in Venice in 1995.

Source: Amusing Planet