2003.04.14
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Melinda Iverson 206-285-7101
email brickfish@msn.com
Web site: www.vebjorn-sand.com

THE GLOBAL LEONARDO BRIDGE PROJECT BECOMES A REALITY

Since the first Leonardo Bridge opened in Oslo, Norway, October 31, 2001, Norwegian artist Vebjørn Sand and his team have received hundreds of requests for information about the Project. A number of requests have come from communities around the globe interested in constructing a similar bridge. So far, communities in the United States, Japan, Italy and Turkey have inquired about the design for specific sites where a pedestrian overpass is planned. Two sites in the USA are being actively developed.

Promoting a permanent sense of shared destiny around the planet is what the Leonardo Bridge Project team espouses. The Project team envisions a global community committed to the education of a younger generation in the finest in artistic, spiritual and technical endeavor. The Leonardo Bridge Project has become a planet-wide tribute to the artistic legacy of Leonardo da Vinci.

The non-profit organization, the Leonardo Bridge Project, will develop these projects worldwide as a pan-cultural public arts project to create functional beauty in public spaces through a global network of permanent landmarks. "The Leonardo Bridge Project, including community programs integrating the arts, natural sciences and mathematics, will inspire young and old, regardless of culture, with the awesome capacity of the human mind." according to the mission statement of the organization.

The Leonardo Bridge Project is funded by private contributions, grants and a design fee put back into developing further sites and educational programs.

The Leonardo Bridge Project is a replicable civil engineering project. Though not appropriate for every terrain, the design has been thoroughly tested through its construction in Norway by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and engineers assigned to the project. Work is already completed on the environmental impact of the design, the testing of materials and the implementation of processes. Consequently, it is a flexible yet replicable project that will lower the overall budget for the community.

The heart of the Project is a bridge program geared to community building both locally and internationally. Educational programs, already delineated but not overly defined, will build on one another to make the project more than just a bridge. A sister-cities model is used to build relationships between sister-bridge communities.

Leonardo's tiny 1502 drawing of a graceful and ethereal bridge has, after 500 years, found its audience.

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