Alkaff Bridge
Encyclopedia
Alkaff Bridge is a pedestrian
bridge
in Singapore
. It spans the Singapore River
at Robertson Quay
, located in the Singapore River planning area within the Central Area
, Singapore's Central Business District
.
The steel
truss
bridge is 55 metres in length and weighs about 230 ton
nes. It is shaped like a tongkang
(a light boat
used commonly in the early days to carry goods along rivers), and is situated near the former Alkaff Quay. Alkaff Quay was named after a prominent Arabian family, the Alkaffs
, who were among the wealthiest in Singapore during the early 20th century.
The bridge was built in 1997, as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority
's (URA) plan to create a promenade along both banks of the Singapore River. The bridge, completed in 1999, is one of three footbridge
s — Alkaff Bridge, Robertson Bridge and Jiak Kim Bridge
— built at Robertson Quay
to improve the pedestrian connectivity between the two river banks.
ed in January 2004 in vibrant colours by Filipino
artist
Pacita Abad
(1946–2004) and a team of rope
specialists. The artist and her crew of helpers used 55 different colours and more than 900 litres of industrial-strength paint to transform the bridge into Singapore's first "Bridge of Art
".
ArtBridge Timeline
Artist Pacita Abad begins three-month Visiting Artists Program at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI)
Pacita conceives of project to paint the Alkaff bridge
STPI supports Pacita’s ArtBridge project and begins to get the official approvals necessary to paint the Alkaff Bridge
STPI receives all of the necessary approvals for the ArtBridge project. The Land Transport Authority gives its support and the Singapore Tourism Board and City Developments Limited provide working capital for the project. Nippon Paint donates all the paint for the Bridge and Pacita selects 55 colors. Professional Industrial Rope Access Services Pte Ltd (PIRAS) agrees to paint the Bridge at a subsidized rate and Michelle Tan agrees to be the project manager
Pacita works with Visual Media Works to transform her colorful hand-painted Bridge sketches into detailed computerized workplans for the painters to follow.
The project team begins the cleaning and painting of the Bridge
The project team begins to paint the entire Bridge with a white primary base coat
The project team follows Pacita's workplan and begins to paint each of the six sections of the Bridge in different base colors: yellow, pink, red, green, blue and orange
The first of the 2,350 circle stencils in four designs and four sizes begin to arrive and are hand placed, one by one, on each of the Bridge's beams according to Pacita's workplan
Each stencil is hand painted in a variety of colors and after the paint is dry, the stencils are removed one by one
The "ArtBridge" is inaugurated
As a final touch, the railings are hand painted by the artist with multiple circles
Pedestrian
A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In some communities, those traveling using roller skates or skateboards are also considered to be pedestrians. In modern times, the term mostly refers to someone walking on a road or footpath, but this was not the case...
bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. It spans the Singapore River
Singapore River
The Singapore River is a river in Singapore with great historical importance. The Singapore River flows from the Central Area, which lies in the Central Region in the southern part of Singapore before emptying into the ocean...
at Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay is a wharf near the source of the Singapore River and the largest and most upstream of the three wharfs on the Singapore River.-History:...
, located in the Singapore River planning area within the Central Area
Central Area
In Singapore, the Central Area or Central Business District contains the core financial and commercial districts, including eleven urban planning areas, namely Downtown Core, Marina East, Marina South, Museum, Newton, Orchard, Outram, River Valley, Rochor, Singapore River and Straits View as...
, Singapore's Central Business District
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...
.
The steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
truss
Truss
In architecture and structural engineering, a truss is a structure comprising one or more triangular units constructed with straight members whose ends are connected at joints referred to as nodes. External forces and reactions to those forces are considered to act only at the nodes and result in...
bridge is 55 metres in length and weighs about 230 ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
nes. It is shaped like a tongkang
Tongkang
Tongkang or "Tong'kang" was a type of light wooden boat used commonly in the early 19th century to carry goods along rivers in the Malay Archipelago.-Description:...
(a light boat
Boat
A boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
used commonly in the early days to carry goods along rivers), and is situated near the former Alkaff Quay. Alkaff Quay was named after a prominent Arabian family, the Alkaffs
Arab Singaporean
The majority of the Arabs in Singapore are Hadhramis tracing their ancestry from the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula called Hadhramaut, which is now part of the Republic of Yemen. The People's Democratic Republic of Yemen PDRY was formed on 30 November 1967 when it achieved independence...
, who were among the wealthiest in Singapore during the early 20th century.
The bridge was built in 1997, as part of the Urban Redevelopment Authority
Urban Redevelopment Authority
The Urban Redevelopment Authority is the national urban planning authority of Singapore, and a statutory board under the Ministry of National Development of the Singapore Government.-Mission:The authority was established on 1 April 1974, and is of especially critical importance to the city-state,...
's (URA) plan to create a promenade along both banks of the Singapore River. The bridge, completed in 1999, is one of three footbridge
Footbridge
A footbridge or pedestrian bridge is a bridge designed for pedestrians and in some cases cyclists, animal traffic and horse riders, rather than vehicular traffic. Footbridges complement the landscape and can be used decoratively to visually link two distinct areas or to signal a transaction...
s — Alkaff Bridge, Robertson Bridge and Jiak Kim Bridge
Jiak Kim Bridge
The Jiak Kim Bridge is a pedestrian bridge in Singapore....
— built at Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay
Robertson Quay is a wharf near the source of the Singapore River and the largest and most upstream of the three wharfs on the Singapore River.-History:...
to improve the pedestrian connectivity between the two river banks.
Art bridge
The Alkaff Bridge was paintPaint
Paint is any liquid, liquefiable, or mastic composition which after application to a substrate in a thin layer is converted to an opaque solid film. One may also consider the digital mimicry thereof...
ed in January 2004 in vibrant colours by Filipino
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
Pacita Abad
Pacita Abad
Pacita Abad was born in Basco, Batanes, a small island in the northernmost part of the Philippines, between Luzon and Taiwan. Her more than 32-year painting career began when she travelled to the United States to undertake graduate studies. She had over 40 solo exhibitions at museums and...
(1946–2004) and a team of rope
Rope
A rope is a length of fibres, twisted or braided together to improve strength for pulling and connecting. It has tensile strength but is too flexible to provide compressive strength...
specialists. The artist and her crew of helpers used 55 different colours and more than 900 litres of industrial-strength paint to transform the bridge into Singapore's first "Bridge of Art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
".
ArtBridge Timeline
- March 2003
Artist Pacita Abad begins three-month Visiting Artists Program at the Singapore Tyler Print Institute (STPI)
- April 2003
Pacita conceives of project to paint the Alkaff bridge
- May 2003
STPI supports Pacita’s ArtBridge project and begins to get the official approvals necessary to paint the Alkaff Bridge
- November 2003
STPI receives all of the necessary approvals for the ArtBridge project. The Land Transport Authority gives its support and the Singapore Tourism Board and City Developments Limited provide working capital for the project. Nippon Paint donates all the paint for the Bridge and Pacita selects 55 colors. Professional Industrial Rope Access Services Pte Ltd (PIRAS) agrees to paint the Bridge at a subsidized rate and Michelle Tan agrees to be the project manager
- December 2003
Pacita works with Visual Media Works to transform her colorful hand-painted Bridge sketches into detailed computerized workplans for the painters to follow.
- December 23, 2003
The project team begins the cleaning and painting of the Bridge
- December 28, 2003
The project team begins to paint the entire Bridge with a white primary base coat
- January 2, 2004
The project team follows Pacita's workplan and begins to paint each of the six sections of the Bridge in different base colors: yellow, pink, red, green, blue and orange
- January 10, 2004
The first of the 2,350 circle stencils in four designs and four sizes begin to arrive and are hand placed, one by one, on each of the Bridge's beams according to Pacita's workplan
- January 18, 2004
Each stencil is hand painted in a variety of colors and after the paint is dry, the stencils are removed one by one
- January 29, 2004
The "ArtBridge" is inaugurated
- February 12, 2004
As a final touch, the railings are hand painted by the artist with multiple circles