INDEPENDENT NEWS

"Art Bridge Gains Consent"

Published: Thu 29 Jun 2000 11:24 AM
Christchurch City Council
Date - 29 June 2000
For Immediate Release
"Art Bridge Gains Consent"
Resource Consent has been granted to Turning Point 2000 Ltd allowing the installation of the art bridge "Bridge 2000" across the River Avon in Hagley Park opposite Dorset St.
A panel, made up of independent commissioner Max Barber and Environment Canterbury Hearing Committee members Neil Cherry (chair), Sir Hamish Hay and Sir Kerry Burke, heard evidence over four days in May supporting and opposing the application for installation of "Bridge 2000".
The location of the art bridge and its effect on the character of Hagley Park were two of the issues raised by those opposing the granting of resource consent. Commissioner Max Barber in his report comments,..."I am satisfied, on the evidence, that the adverse effects of locating the bridge at the proposed site are no more than minor." Commissioner Barber reports that..."the bridge, as an art work, needs to be on a site where it is able to be seen by the public but, at the same time, not dominate the natural landscape. I am satisfied that the bridge will not dominate the landscape at this location. This section of the Avon River is the most urbanised or least natural, of all the sections within Hagley Park."
Commissioner Barber also quotes the evidence of Sir Miles Warren, "...Bridge 2000 will add another beautiful element to one of the city's most handsome streets".
Cr Anna Crighton Chair of Art 2000, one of Turning Point 2000's fourteen Advisory Groups, says "The millennium bridge "From Here to There" is a celebration and a belief in our future. It represents the very best of Christchurch talent and design technology through the marriage of art, engineering and sculpture. But as with any public artwork there is always controversy and this project proves no exception."....
The council received 40 submissions on the application. 21 were in support of the proposal, 14 against and the remainder commented on both the positive and adverse effects of the art bridge across the River Avon in Hagley Park.
The cylindrical brass bridge was chosen as the result of a design competition, for which the brief was 'to create a functional art form to reflect the spirit of the year 2000'. The winner of the competition was Andrew Drummond internationally renowned Christchurch sculptor.
Rae Finlay CEO Turning Point 2000 comments "I am delighted and relieved and that we have finally gained resource consent. The art bridge is heritage in the making. It is a visual reminder of the turning point into the third millennium and the 150th Anniversary of the founding of the Canterbury province. The art bridge will add another beautiful element to the city's prime urban recreational space."
The location of Bridge 2000, opposite Dorset Street, adjacent to Park Terrace was identified by Christchurch City Council, Parks as a suitable egress point for events held in North Hagley Park. It was also identified by Art 2000 as a suitable site for a functional art form that relates to its environment and the year 2000 as an auspicious time in history.
Local sculptor Drummond has installations in public and major private collections in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. His practice as a sculptor has allowed work in a wide range of geographic and institutional situations in diverse material, site and scale. Drummond is currently Senior Lecturer in Sculpture, School of Fine Arts, University of Canterbury.
Drummond explains that "Bridge 2000 is designed to provide the participant with an experience that explores the ideas of time and motion. The three reflective saddles that are located across the bridge have spaces of different length between them, closer on the city side and further apart on the park side. This is to reinforce the idea of the contrast between the bustling urban and peaceful park environments and the journey between them.
"Bridge 2000 works beyond the parameter of the traditional arch structure and utilises a linear structure to span the River Avon. A step forward into the new millennium."
Production of Bridge 2000 will be carried out by Andrew Drummond Sculpture Limited. The brass structure will be constructed in his Woolston studio and will be placed on the abutments, on site, with the use of a crane.
Construction of Bridge 2000, on site, will be undertaken from the riverbanks with no requirement for any vehicles or machinery to enter the river. No trees will be removed in the construction of Bridge 2000.
Lights located in each abutment will light the underside of the bridge across the waterway, enhancing the floating type structure inherent to the design of the bridge. The perforated mesh balustrades allow for light to spread upward throughout the structure.
Bridge 2000 has been made possible by generous funding from The Community Trust.
Words = 789 Prepared by Rachel Leitch
* Electronic Images available on request from Turning Point 2000 telephone 379 2008 Email: maureen.downes@ccc.govt.nz
For Further Information Contact: Rae Finlay Anna Crighton Rachel Leitch Chief Executive Officer Chair Art 2000 Liaison Officer Turning Point 2000 Ph 025 983 206 Turning Point 2000 Ph: (03) 379 2008 Ph: (03) 353 0350 Fax: (03) 379 7131 Fax: (03) 379 7131 rae.finlay@ccc.govt.nz rachel.leitch@ccc.govt.nz

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