page_title: Vebjørn Sand
section_title: Leonardo Da Vinci Bridge
hierarchical_section_title: Vebjørn Sand / Career and work / Leonardo Da Vinci Bridge
caption_attribution_description: The Norwegian Leonardo Bridge Project in Ås (2001)
context_page_description: Vebjørn Sand is a Norwegian painter and artist. He is known for his paintings as well as his public arts projects, such as the Da Vinci Project, and the Kepler Star monument at Oslo Airport, Gardermoen.
context_section_description: In 1996, Vebjørn saw Leonardo da Vinci's sketch of a proposed bridge that would cross the Golden Horn “Haliç” in modern-day Turkey. Sketched in 1502 for Sultan Bayezid II, it would have been 366 m (1,201 ft) long, overall and 24 m (79 ft) wide. Beyazid did not pursue the project, because he believed that such a construction was impossible.
  Upon seeing the drawing, Vebjørn said “It was like finding an unplayed symphony of Mozart” and felt compelled to bring it to life. He suggested the bridge be constructed in Norway, and reached out to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA).
  Construction began the same year and was completed in 2001. This scaled down version of the da Vinci Bridge now serves as a pedestrian and bike crossing over highway E18, 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Oslo, by the nearby village of Ås.
  About Vebjørn's ultimate goal with The da Vinci bridge, the Wall Street Journal wrote:
  “He wanted not only to unite past with present, but also to remind the world that technology is at its best when it is informed with a sense of the transcendental. He saw his and da Vinci's bridge as ‘a meeting between heaven and earth, between the spiritual and the material realms.’” 
  Nearly 500 years after da Vinci’s original sketch, the bridge was officially opened by Queen Sonja in November 2001. Vebjørn, noticing that mostly men were opening public works at the time, specifically chose the Queen to open the bridge - a gesture she mentioned in her remarks. Of its completion Vebjørn said,
  “It just had to be built. This has taken years of effort. The bridge is such a beautiful mixture between the functional and the aesthetic."
  Since that unveiling, the Da Vinci Bridge has experienced international acclaim, being featured in publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Travel + Leisure and many more. It was also named one of the five coolest bridges on earth by Wired magazine.
  Several more Da Vinci bridges were constructed by Vebjørn Sand including temporary ice ones to raise awareness for climate change.
caption: The Norwegian Leonardo Bridge Project in Ås, Norway, 2001
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