PROGRAM
INTRODUCTION
Pittsburgh has more bridges per capita spanning is rivers, hills and valleys than any other city in the world. There are 4,148 bridges in the Southwestern Pennsylvania region and 435 bridges in the Pittsburgh area alone. These landmark structures give the city of Pittsburgh its unique identity as "The City of Bridges."
Much of the history of Pittsburgh revolves around its role as a center of steel production. Most steel mills were located along the river low lands, fed by the supply of coal and coke that arrived via water. While steel production made Pittsburgh a wealthy and important city, the steel industry had deleterious effects as well, generating pollution and separating the city from its riverfront. With the demise of the steel industry, Pittsburgh suffered serious economic and social challenges. However, that painful process also liberated the rivers and opened up the riverfronts for new uses.
Beginning in the 1980’s and continuing through the 90’s, Pittsburgh’s formerly industrial riverfronts became a focal point for brownfield redevelopment. New development has included high tech businesses such as those at the Pittsburgh Technology Center and entertainment and retail complexes such as Station Square and South Side Works and residential and recreational amenities such as those offered on Washington’s Landing. As development began to expand along the rivers, it became clear that the redevelopment potential of the riverfronts presented a once in a lifetime opportunity to reconnect the public realm of the city with its rivers.
In 1999, the city established the Riverlife Task Force, bringing together property owners, local philanthropic representatives, and civic and business leaders, to create a vision and master plan for Three Rivers Park - more than 10 miles of riverfront in the heart of Pittsburgh. To that end, Riverlife engaged the services of a premier design team and held over 120 public meetings with neighborhood and community groups, river users, professional associations, and arts organizations, to arrive at a plan for the coordinated development of Pittsburgh’s abundant riverfronts.
Now, architects, landscape architects, designers, planners, artists, and industrial designers are invited to create visionary design proposals for one of the most crucial segments of this emerging park system-the West End Bridge.
The site could not be more prominent. Approached from the west, the West End Bridge is an entry to the city of Pittsburgh, offering spectacular views of the city's great skyline. Approached from the east, the bridge serves as a portal to the Ohio River, marking the place where the headwaters of this mighty river begin. Standing at the tip of Point State Park, where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers join to form the Ohio, one views the West End Bridge as both a boundary and a passage.
Pedestrian access to the bridge is limited. Trail users must travel across open lots to reach steep staircases leading onto the bridge. The walkway over the bridge is narrow and unprotected, with rapidly moving, heavy vehicular traffic immediately adjacent to it. Further, the site of the bridge offers visitors no access to or from the water.
Designers are asked to envision a new pedestrian bridge, anchored to the existing West End Bridge. The Competition asks designers to mediate the vertical gap between the bridge deck, the land and the water and to create new connections to both shores of the river. Finally, the Competition seeks proposals for water landings that will celebrate arrival by boat and give park goers of all ages an opportunity to connect directly with the river.
When realized, the pedestrian bridge will connect the city’s north and south shores to the rivers with a direct and meaningful link. It will complete a spectacular loop of trails being developed around the city’s three rivers. Once the pedestrian bridge is opened to the public, residents and visitors will be able to go by boat, take an invigorating bike ride, or stroll along the riverfront from the heart of downtown out to the West End to look back and reflect on a truly spectacular view of the Pittsburgh skyline and its surrounding hills and valleys-a vantage point unlike any other.
CHALLENGE
Bridges are tough structures to master. They have to be flexible and lightweight enough to span long distances without bending or buckling, yet strong enough to handle traffic, wind, and temperature changes without shattering. For over 200 years, Pittsburgh bridges have met those challenges with a succession of progressively modern designs.
Today, we challenge competitors to prepare visionary - yet feasible - designs that reflect the forward-looking and innovative spirit of Pittsburgh and enhance the bridge’s fundamental nature as a place that brings together earth, water, and sky. To do this, entrants will need to resolve important practical issues such as access, function, and safety by addressing the following challenges:
- Design a new pedestrian bridge that attaches to the existing West End Bridge, which spans the Ohio River. Designs should celebrate the existing historic bridge and enhance its identity with a new contemporary addition-thereby creating a new iconic landmark that provides a symbol of the future and of urban life centered on the rivers.
- Create new vertical access for pedestrians and bicyclists to mediate the vertical gap between the riverfronts, the trailways at the base of the West End Bridge and the deck of the new pedestrian bridge high above. Designs should pay attention to the ways that these seemingly utilitarian structures can enhance the experience of accessing the pedestrian bridge and crossing the river.
- Develop ideas for new water landings on both the north and south shores to celebrate arrival by boat and the connection of the river edges, the water and the communities. Designs should address the variety of activities and people who will use the bridge and the Park, and provide opportunities to engage them in multiple dimensions.
- Establish a connection with the neighborhoods on both sides of the river. Designs should strive to integrate the crossing of the river with the every day life of the city, making it a valuable link between the city’s communities and residents. Designs should also celebrate the location of the bridge as a place for trail users, boaters, community residents, and visitors of all ages to meet, cross paths, and interact.
- Consider lighting as an integral component of the design. Lighting is considered to be a transforming element that can be used to promote linkages, create identity, and shape experiences. Any lighting considerations will take into account the impact that illumination will have on the environment, communities adjacent to the Park, and the experience of the Park overall.
- Envision an internationally prominent, architecturally significant solution, that will be a functional work of art worthy of the "City of Bridges."
CONTEXT
Context information is available to registered entrants via the competition brief.
ENGINEERING REQUIREMENTS
Detailed engineering information is available to registered entrants via the competition brief.