Negligence for Calatrava bridge in Venice: Corte dei Conti convicts famous architect on appeal

The Venice Court of Auditors has condemned the famous architect Santiago Calatrava, author of the Constitution Bridge in the lagoon city (and so closely linked to its designer that it has been renamed the “Calatrava Bridge”) for fiscal damage: thearchistar will have to pay a fine of 78,000 euros. In fact, the body in charge of overseeing public spending deemed the bridge excessively expensive: it cost 11.6 million euros compared to the 7 million initially planned.

The responsibility, according to the court, would fall on the architect, who was held responsible for an “aggravation of costs related to the underestimation of the dimensions of some of the pipes but also of the wear and tear times of the steps, partly made of glass.” The steps were designed to withstand wear and tear for at least two decades, but within months of their installation, constant and expensive maintenance would be required to address their rapid deterioration. In addition, the negligence of which the Court of Auditors accuses Calatrava is deemed “all the more serious and deserving of stigma since it comes from an esteemed world-renowned professional of very high competence, with long and proven experience precisely in bridge construction.” In addition to Calatrava, an engineer from the municipality was also condemned (11 thousand euros) due to missed rebates on the auction of part of the work.

The Court of Auditors’ ruling comes on appeal, after Calatrava was acquitted in first instance. At this point, it is likely that the architect’s defense attorneys will decide to appeal to the Court of Cassation, at the third instance, to try to further overturn the judges’ decision, given also the outcome of the first instance ruling.

The Constitution Bridge is the fourth bridge opened on the Grand Canal in Venice, and connects Piazzale Roma with the Santa Lucia train station. Designed in the late 1990s, it was built between 2002 and 2008, and was opened to pedestrian traffic on September 11, 2008. Made mainly of steel and glass, at 94 meters it is the longest of the Grand Canal bridges.

Pictured: the Constitution Bridge. Ph. Credit Filippo Leonardi for the Municipality of Venice

Negligence for Calatrava bridge in Venice: Corte dei Conti convicts famous architect on appeal

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