[Athena] le plus vieux pont Vierendeel de la Belgique en danger

[<alinters AT conservare.be>]

Je viens de recevoir ce message de la part de l'Association Flamande
d'Archéologie Industrielle et je le transmets à cette liste, car ça peut
intéresser les membres qui veulent réagir.

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From: VVIA <vvia AT vvia.be>
Subject: Call for help: save the oldest Vierendeel-bridge in Flanders

The Flemish Association for Industrial Archaeology is campaigning to save at
least a part of the oldest Vierendeel Bridge in the World Heritage town 
Brugge,
see the article in Flanders Today
http://www.flanderstoday.eu/content/unique-bridge-destined-scrapheap
All the other Vierendeel-bridges were destroyed during two world wars - only
this one survived till now.

Vierendeel (1852-1940) was a famous Belgian engineer (see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Vierendeel) who invented the so-called
Vierendeel truss. Such trusses do not have the usual trianglular voids seen in
a pin–joint truss bridge, rather employing rectangular openings and rigid
connections in the elements, which (unlike a conventional truss) must also
resist substantial bending forces. Movable bridges of this type are very rare.
Only one swing bridge of this type is known: the Scheepsdale bridge in Brugge.
The Vierendeel principle, a construction similar to a truss but with rigid
joints, was used in the New York World Trade Center.

A photo report on the Scheepsdale Bridge can be found at:
http://www.vvia.be/sites/lijst_WV/8000001.htm 
A list of existing and disappeared bridges where the Vierendeel-principles 
were
used is compiled at the website
http://users.telenet.be/karel.roose/vierendeel/vierendeel.html 

Please help us 
and send a letter or a e-mail which pleads for saving at least a relevant part
of this bridge 
to:
- the City Council of Brugge, Burg 12 - B-8000 Brugge an/or to the Lord Mayor,
kabinet.burgemeester AT brugge.be
- the Historic Buildings Department of Brugge, Oostmeers 17, B-8000 Brugge,
monumentenzorg AT brugge.be
- the Flemish Minister in charge of Heritage Conservation, Geert Bourgeois,
Arenbergstraat 7, B-1000 Brussel, kabinet.bourgeois AT vlaanderen.be
- the Flemish Historic Buildings Department, Koning Albert II Laan 19 bus 3,
1210 Brussel, aml AT rwo.vlaanderen.be
- the Flemish Minister of Public Works, Mrs H. Crevits, Koning Albert II laan
20 bus 1, B-1000 Brussel, kabinet.crevits AT vlaanderen.be
- Mr. Paul Breyne, governor of the province of West-Flanders, Burg 3, B-8000
Brugge

Please forward this message to friends and colleagues in your country


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'Vlaamse Vereniging voor Industriële Archeologie'
(Flemish Association for Industrial Archaeology)
P.O. Box 30 - Post Office 'Gent Stationswijk'
B-9000   Gent-12
Flanders-Belgium
fax  (+32)(0)56/255173
e-mail: vvia AT vvia.be
http://www.vvia.be and http://industrialheritage.be 
The VVIA is the overall volunteer association for the study, the preservation
and the interpretation of industrial and technical heritage in Flanders
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        visit our website at: http://www.vvia.be/ 
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The VVIA is a member of the European Federation of Associations for Industrial
and Technical Heritage / E-FAITH  - see: http://www.e-faith.org/