''The Floating Piers'' was a temporary, site-specific work of art by

Christo and Jeanne-Claude Christo Vladimirov Javacheff (1935–2020) and Jeanne-Claude Denat de Guillebon (1935–2009), known as Christo and Jeanne-Claude, were artists noted for their large-scale, site-specific environmental installations, often large landmarks a ...

, consisting of 70,000 square meters of yellow fabric, carried by a modular floating dock system of 226,000 high-density polyethylene cubes installed in 2016 at

Lake Iseo Lake Iseo or Iseo lake ( ; ; ), also known as Sebino (; ), is the fourth largest lake in Lombardy, Italy, fed by the Oglio River. It is in the north of the country in the Val Camonica area, near the cities of Brescia and Bergamo. The lake ...

near

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

, Italy. The fabric created a walkable surface between Sulzano, Monte Isola and the island of San Paolo.

Origins and development

Christo and Jeanne-Claude began conceptualizing of ''The Floating Piers'' in 1970. Their initial site was

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "river". The word also exists in Italian, but is largely obsolete and used in a poetical or literary context to mean "stream". Rio, RIO or Río may also refer to: Places United States * Rio, Fl ...

between

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

. The couple also considered

Tokyo Bay is a bay located in the southern Kantō region of Japan spanning the coasts of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Chiba Prefecture, on the southern coast of the island of Honshu. Tokyo Bay is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Uraga Channel. Th ...

as a location before moving on to other projects. In late 2013, Christo settled on

as the location for ''The Floating Piers'' and dedicated the next 22 months to realizing the project. It was the first major project he undertook after the death of his partner and collaborator Jeanne-Claude. The project was estimated to cost $11 million, but was later reported at closer to $17 million. The funds were raised by Christo himself through sales of his project sketches and original art. Permits took less than a year. The physical installation of the piers was handled by Deep Dive Systems, a company based in Bulgaria. They installed about 220 six-ton anchors in the lake floor at depths of up to 92 meters, over a period of three months. 226,000 cubes were then attached to those anchors, and covered by 70,000 square meters of nylon fabric. Over 600 workers were involved in the installation. Traffic planning required a 175-page document and cost €100,000 to produce. The fabric was cut and confectioned by the company geo - Die Luftwerker e.K. located in Lübeck. This company was also involved in the 3D measurement and installation.

Opening

On 18 June 2016, the saffron-colored walkway opened to the public. 270,000 people visited the free installation in its first five days. Due to the unexpectedly large crowds, organizers began closing the installation from midnight to 6 a.m. each day to allow for cleaning. On 22 June 2016, the large crowds caused some chaos at the main train station in nearby

Closing

On 3 July 2016, the work closed to the public. Local officials estimated that it had attracted 1.2 million visitors, or an average of 72,000 per day, over its 16-day run. Police estimates were even higher, at 100,000 visitors per day. Dismantling of the project began in the early morning of 4 July 2016.

References

External links

*
''The Floating Piers''
photos from ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'' magazine
Web cams list
on ''The Floating Piers''
''Floating Piers''
the work behind the project
Google Maps Street View
of ''The Floating Piers'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Floating Piers 2016 sculptures Works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude Culture in Lombardy Installation art works Bridges in art Lake Iseo Monte Isola