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Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

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Bridge – Michael Cross

  • On October 11, 2006
  • http://www.ruairiglynn.co.uk

Bridge is a spectacular new site-specific design commission for Dilston Grove, London (Cafe Gallery Projects) by Michael Cross. Housed in a former church, (one of the earliest examples of poured concrete construction and a Grade II listed building), the piece comprises submerging two thirds of the inside of the church in water, and producing a series of steps which rise out of the apparently empty man-made ‘lake’ as you walk across them. Each step emerges one step in front of you and disappears back underneath behind you as you go. This ‘bridge’ is purely mechanical, the weight of the person on it depresses each step a little, this force activates a submerged mechanism which raises the next step.

The public are invited to walk out on it as if walking on water, eventually reaching the middle of the lake, thirty steps and twelve meters from the shore. There they will stand alone and detached, stranded in the middle of a plane of water until they choose to return the way they came. For some people this experience of being cut off and surrounded by water will be peaceful, for others terrifying. For some walking across the water will be pure childish joy, whilst others will be too scared to try”. (full text) via pixelsumo

Comments

  1. what a fantastic installation! quite a social experiment in risk-taking

  2. Yeah its been very popular, i still havent gone to see it so I must before its over

  3. Wow. Wish I had heard about this earlier (a fellow Voxtropolis blogger posted about this, and I just now read that post). It would have been worth the price of a plane ticket across the pond, to walk across this sacred pond. Amazing.

    I hope Michael Cross will approach a similarly picturesque (and watertight) church in the USA about a similar installation… and that I’ll hear about it in a more timely manner! (entirely my fault, the timeliness…)

  4. If you’d like to see more please visit http://www.michaelcross.eu/bridge1.html

    thanks, M

  5. If you’re interested in this project please keep an eye on http://www.michaelcross.eu for an announcement in the next few weeks….

  6. Hello- Just to let you know that a new version of Bridge will be opening at Z33 in Hasselt (Belgium) on the 29th of May this year (2008). It’s a new and much superioir version implemented through two rooms in the galleries there. It’s free and all are welcome.

    M

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