"Rethinking bridges. Living space, urban space, open space", a new exhibition at the ZfBK - Center for Building Culture Saxony

Bridges are cornerstones of our society, the importance of which we often only realize when they fall away - as the collapse of the Carola Bridge in Dresden and the temporary closure of the Elbe Bridge in Bad Schandau have impressively demonstrated.

The exhibition "Rethinking Bridges" sheds light on the topic of bridges and their significance for society from a variety of sometimes surprising angles:

The show sets out how visions of bridges have changed over the centuries - from symbols of order in antiquity, to symbols of progress in times of the industrial revolution or functionality and transportation in the 1930s to 1990s, to symbols of responsibility as a desirable view of the present.

Dresden's Augustus Bridge is used as an example to illustrate the transformation of a building and its use over the centuries. This historical overview opens up the possibility of discussing the role of bridges in modern times and in the future, as well as providing food for thought for current bridge designs that meet today's and future requirements. The central question is: Why is a bridge needed and what functions should it combine? The mere crossing of motorized traffic can no longer be the sole, overriding goal today! The enormous areas on and under a bridge offer more potential - as space for recreation, sport, culture(s) and encounters. National and international examples that integrate positively into the location, nature and people's living environment provide inspiration.

Finally, the exhibition also refers to Dresden's Carola Bridge: in 2025, students developed visions for a new Elbe crossing as part of a competition at TU Dresden, which are shown here. The state capital, or STESAD, also provides information on the current planning status for the reconstruction of the bridge.

The exhibition is complemented by an extensive accompanying program that explores individual themes of the exhibition in greater depth and creates a platform for topic-related debates. The program includes the official opening of the exhibition on 29 January, a film evening on bridges of the world, a lecture evening on resource efficiency in bridge construction, a lecture on "Building bridges in a new way - gender equality in planning and construction" and a bridge construction day for children during the school vacations in February.

Further information on the exhibition:
An exhibition by the Institute of Concrete Structures at TU Dresden in cooperation with the ZfBK Saxony. The accompanying programme is made possible by funding from the DFG programmes SFB/Transregio 280 "Construction strategies for material-minimized carbon concrete structures - foundations for a new way of building", SPP 100+ "Extending the service life of complex building structures through intelligent digitization" and SPP 2255 "Cultural Heritage Construction" and SPP 2255 "Cultural Heritage Construction".

Exhibition period: 23.01.2026 - 26.02.2026

Exhibition venue: ZfBK - Center for Building Culture Saxony in the Kulturpalast Dresden, Schloßstraße 2, 01067 Dresden

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 13:00 -18:00

Free admission