The Maurício de Nassau Bridge from the Perspective of Technical Culture
Authors
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Maria Luiza Macedo Xavier de Freitas
Universidad Federal de Pernambuco, Departamento de Arquitectura y Urbanismo, Brasil
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1504-0756
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Abstract
The João Maurício de Nassau Bridge, built during the Dutch occupation (1630– 1654) over the Capibaribe River, was the first connection between the Recife isthmus and Antônio Vaz Island. Formerly known as the Ponte do Recife, it was originally built partly in stone and partly in wood. In the nineteenth century, it was rebuilt in iron and renamed the Ponte Sete de Setembro. Today, the bridge is constructed in reinforced concrete, a material introduced at the time of its most recent inauguration.This article aims to explore the transformations of the bridge from the perspective of technical culture, with particular emphasis on the period we refer to as the Concrete modernity, when the construction system of reinforced concrete was introduced by the major construction companies that arrived in Brazil in the 1910s. The study period is delimited by the examination of documents produced between the mid-nineteenth century and the 1920s. It begins with a survey of primary sources at the Public Archive of the State of Pernambuco (Jordão Emereciano APEJE), combined with a review of press articles held in the National Library’s collections. The article seeks to narrate the trajectory of the bridge through the lens of technical culture, focusing on controversies, contradictions, and disputes, and aiming to reveal the obstacles that accompanied the introduction of new construction systems foreign to local traditions.
