Renzo Piano's Genoa San Giorgio Bridge, which is the replacement for the Morandi Bridge that collapsed in a storm almost two years ago, has opened in Italy.
Built in Piano's home town of Genoa, the 1,100-metre-long motorway bridge was inaugurated by the Italian prime minister almost exactly two years after the previous bridge collapsed on 14 August 2018 killing 43 people.

The design and build of the new bridge over the Polcevera river and the area of Val Polcevera was completed in less than two years following round the clock construction.
"Its rapid reconstruction aims to become a model for the renovation and adaptation of Italian infrastructure with a high social, economic and strategic significance," said Piano's studio Renzo Piano Building Workshop.
Described by the studio as an "urban bridge", the bridge's deck is supported by 18 slender reinforced concrete piers spaced 50 metres apart except in the central section where they are separated by 100 metres.
Each of the piers has an elliptical section designed to allow the light to "slip" on the surface and help mitigate the impact on the neighbourhood below.

The piers support a steel and concrete deck that is isolated by a system of support devices that are designed to protect the structure from seismic activity.
According to Piano's studio, the underside of the deck is curved to be reminiscent of the form of a ship.

"From an architectural point of view, the form described by th...