Pont Trencat

Sant Celoni y Santa María de Palautordera, Barcelona, Cataluña.
Medal/Award in the category Conservation / Conservation and adaptive reuse in the year 2006.

Applicant: Xavier Font.

Reason for the award :

For the elegant profile of the old arches of the bridge over the Tordera River, brilliantly incorporated into the new steel arches, thanks to the altruistic efforts of a grassroots movement.

  • Minolta DSC
  • Minolta DSC
  • Minolta DSC
  • Minolta DSC

Two neighborhood associations from two towns separated by a river managed to get the Pont Trencat, an old bridge destroyed more than two hundred years ago, to regain its functionality and unite its municipalities.

During the War of Independence, the Pont Trencat on the Tordera River suffered the destruction of its main arch. For almost two hundred years, no one was interested in repairing it until, in 1996, a group of citizens from the two towns joined by the bridge, Sant Celoni and Santa Maria de Palautordera, decided to seek funding Three years later, the pre-restoration studies started, during which remains of the missing arch and part of the old pavement were found on both banks of the river. Although the Roman origin of the bridge had always been assumed, as it was located on the route of the Via Augusta, no evidence was found. The first reference is from 1453, which confirmed its Gothic origin.

The team of architects faced the question of how to proceed on the bridge. After considering a non-functional reconstruction and consolidation, they opted for a restoration that would regain its former function, but with a contrast to the existing one, using contemporary techniques and materials. Finally, it was decided to build the missing part with a 3.50-meter wide steel box section board, over a 25-meter span, also in steel. Steel was considered for its ability to blend in with the old noble granite stone from which the existing remains were made. With the restoration carried out, the bridge has recovered its function, but somehow it has not ceased to be trencat, which means in Catalan, broken.

Others awards in Cataluña: