Submission #31 CLOSE

SPF:a (Culver City, California) and ARUP (Los Angeles, California)

The main design impetus for O-bar was to achieve a certain level of design purity and visual simplicity. In a world where we are constantly bombarded with a non-stop barrage of the overstated, overdone, over exalted and hyperbole, it was our mission to be as simple stated as possible while yet creating a dynamic spatial experience. It was not our goal to create a geometric icon but rather too simply make a specific object for Calgary that also challenges the notion of ëspaceí as a way of linking two parts of the city. In other words, the goal of O-bar is to create links from the north and south banks the Bow River and St. Patrickís Island using space as the geometric generator for the form of the bridge.

In order to create a space one needs material, and in order to bridge a gap one needs a structure. As Donald Judd once said, ìMy aphorism is not that form follows function but that it never violates itî, it is with this tenet that we moved forward.

The basic shape and form of the bridge is a bar. The undulations of the bar are directly correlated to the compression and tension stresses of the semi-monocoque skin and truss structure. This structure was chosen for its lightness, simplicity and efficiency and it allowed us to create the subtle undulating geometry that we desired- we see it as almost a muscle- we could even call it the muscle of Calgary. Additionally, this allowed for another goal that our spatial object touch the earth at each of the three points as lightly as possible. The structural undulations, ultimately create the ëspaceí that was mentioned earlier. Because of the undulations, the user is confronted with a constantly changing perspective and perception of the Calgarian sky. The continuous 100 meter slot on both sides of the bridge is located at rail height and above bicycle riders head height so that a hyper extended wide screen-like panoramic view of Calgary is framed. The ends of the bridge are cantilevered to meet the adjacent properties and paths to create a gateway at the north and south entry points. A very light ramp pierces the O-Bar to attach it to St. Patrickís Island and to connect bridge crossers to a geometric landscape of picnic areas, sunbathing pads, play areas and relaxing zones.

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