Smith Creek Pedestrian Bridge

Covington, USA
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Photo © Virginia Tech
Drawing © design/buildLAB
Drawing © design/buildLAB
Photo © Jeff Goldberg/Esto
Architects
designbuildLAB
Location
513 Church Street, 24422 Covington, USA
Year
2013
Students

Bethel Abate, Aiysha Alsane, Justin Dennis, Jennifer Leeds, Stephanie Mahoney, Stephen Perry, Amanda Schlichting, Claudia Siles, Samuel “Aaron” Williams, Ryan Hawkins, Catherine Ives, Anna Knowles-Bagwell, Michael Kretz, Fernanda Rosales, Katherine Schaffernoth, Daniel Vantresca, Bryana Warner

Professors
Marie Zawistowski, Architecte DPLG – Professor of Practice
Keith Zawistowski, AIA, NCARB, GC – Professor of Practice

General Contractor
Commonwealth Contracting Services

Structural Design (gravity loads)
Mario Cortes

Structural Engineer (vibration & flood loads)
Setareh Structural Engineering

Hydraulic Engineer
Hassan Water Resources

Geotechnical Engineer
Froehling & Robertson, Inc

Steel Fabrication Instructors
Jeffrey Snider, Matthew Tolbert

The project is situated in the economically strained Virginia rail town of Clifton Forge. It is the 2nd phase of the redevelopment of a post-industrial brownfield into a public park and performance space which aspires to inject a distinct sense of identity and place at the heart of the community.

This second phase of the project includes a pedestrian bridge, park space and a creek access. The idea driving the design is that the built elements emerge out of the landscape of the park. The bridge is a bent path, which ramps and steps, inviting people to wander as well as providing a direct link, over the creek, between the new ampitheatre and the historic downtown. It is supported at mid-span by a forest of leaning columns, which create a sheltered repose along the creek. Transparency was an integral part of the overall concept; the bridge deck and rail assembly maintain a thin profile, giving the bridge a subtle presence on the site. The entire length of the bridge is ramped to accommodate the site's significant elevation changes. The park is divided into multiple landscaped areas, including a line of tall grasses along the creek, a labyrinthine butterfly garden adjacent to the amphitheatre, a beach along the creek, and a series of grass lawns at the center.

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