A call for bids for the renovation of the Accademia Bridge (one of the four bridges in Venice across the Grand Canal) was recently launched by the City of Venice: the news was announced by Ms Mara Rumiz, Deputy Mayor for Public Works, at a press conference held at the Town Hall, Ca' Farsetti.
According to the contract "Accademia bridge: a new design for an accessible bridge", the winner will be assigned both the design and the restoration project.

Ms Rumiz said the call for bids to be definitely innovative, because the contract will be assigned to a subject which is capable both of presenting a renovation plan and covering the restoration costs. In fact, the winner will be entrusted with the task of directing and carrying out the works and the testing, as well as finding the necessary sponsorship to finance the renovation of the upper structure of the bridge. The estimated costs are 5 million euros and there will be no contribution by the City of Venice. The proposals will have to be presented by October 30th at 12 a.m.

The Deputy Mayor also underlined that the first requirement to be fulfilled by the renovation plan is that the bridge will have to become fully accessible. "For sure - said Rumiz - this won't be an easy goal to reach, but for the Administration it is an absolutely necessary requirement: in fact, in the last years, the City has been strongly committed in making the town progressively accessible to all".

Ms Rumiz is conscious that with the passing of time Venetians got used to the present aspect of the Accademia bridge (which was first built in 1932 as a "temporary" work) and said the new plan is very likely to bring about debate. Nevertheless, she is fully confident that the rules set by the contract, which were carefully prepared by expert employees of the Public Works Office, will be a guarantee for the artistic quality of the restoration and for the way the new bridge will fit in the urban context.

Also Ms Renata Codello, the Superintendent for Art and Architecture in Venice, took part in the press conference and welcomed the project as an "ambitious by extremely realistic" one. "In fact - she said - it tries to meet the actual need of accessibility the City undoubtedly has". Ms Codello then explained the main technical requirement of the restoration: the structure of the bridge arch will be maintained as it is, in order not to harm the plumbing and gas main network that passes beyond it. What will be renovated is only be the upper part. "Time has come - she added - to overcome the golden postcard image of Venice everyone has: it must be clear that Venice also has difficulties to face, which often are a heritage of the past and finally need to be solved. I think the Administration is being very brave in taking important steps toward this direction."

The contract foresees three main assignment criteria, each of which will be given a certain score (the maximum will be 100 points):
1)  the quality of the project proposal (up to 70 points) - this will be evaluated according to the following parameters:
     - the project impact on the urban context and its artistic quality (25 points);
     - the quality of the accessibility solution proposed and the level of accessibility guaranteed (25 points);
     - the choice of the materials, which will be evaluated according to innovation and maintenance (15 points);
     - the organization of the building yard and the solution studied for crossing the Grand Canal while the works are being carried out (5 points).
2)  the communication plan (up to 20 points) - lower impact projects will obviously get better marks.
3)  the duration of the works (up to 10 points) - the contract foresees a minimum duration of 720 days. Better scores will be assigned to the lowest possible duration.