A Building that Breathes - Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature

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I-I

A Building that Breathes

Cities Rivers Bridges Bridging Connecting Bridges Places

Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature

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Bryan He

A Building that Breathes

Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature

Bryan He

Design Thesis October 2018

October 2018

Department of Architecture Faculty of Architecture

Thesis Advisor: Eduardo Aquino Chair: Lisa Landrum External Examiner: Peter Sampson

University of Manitoba


Title Chapter 6


Title Chapter 1

A Building that Breathes

Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature

Design Thesis October 2018 Author: Bryan He Thesis Advisor: Eduardo Aquino Chair: Lisa Landrum External Examiner: Peter Sampson Department of Architecture Faculty of Architecture University of Manitoba

Š 2018 Bryan He All photographs and images have been produced by the author unless otherwise noted. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International.


Title Chapter 2

“ The most beautiful line is the life line!” – Eduardo Aquino


Title Chapter 3

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Eduardo Aquino Lisa Landrum Ted Landrum Carlos Rueda Chad Connery Mark Viljoen Greg Foweraker My Family Thank you for your love, patience, and unconditional support throughout and beyond this special journey.


Title Chapter 4

Li Yuan Wei, Long Nan County, Jiangxi, China (龍南縣栗圓圍) c.1501 A building that breathes, a sustainable cycle of living, surviving, and integrating...


Title Chapter 5 Special thanks to Bill Allen Scholarship in Architecture and Maxwell Starkman Scholarship in Architecture for funding the field studies of Cultural Sustainability: Hakka Traditions and Technologies in China in the summer of 2017, in which the notion a building that breathes... arose.

Song Xing Lou, Ta Xia Cun, Fujian, China (塔下村松興樓) c.1737 r.2016 A building that breathes, with time...


Title Chapter 6


Title Chapter 7

In loving memory of my grandfather He Mu Hua 何木華 (1933-2018)


Title Chapter 8


Title Chapter 9

“ Through breath, everything in the universe is capable of touching everything else.” – Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Attunement


Title Chapter 10


Contents 11

A Building that Breathes

Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature 0. Thesis Abstract (13) 1. Bridging I - Finding Grounds (14-37) 2. Bridging II - Peripheral Consciousness (38-41) 3. Bridging III - Atmospheric Construction (42-69) 4. Bridging IV - Bridging Island Bridge (70-125) 5. Bridging V - A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge (126-223) 6. Conclusions (225) 7. References (227)


Title Chapter 12


Thesis Abstract 13

A Building that Breathes: Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and Human Nature The root of this thesis is the simple notion of the connection between breathing and architecture. To breathe is to be alive, to inhale and exhale, with time. Through breath, as Alberto Pérez-Gómez suggested, everything in the universe is capable of touching everything else. A building that breathes, thus creates this attuned setting for its inhabitants: be it a person, a flower, or a butterfly… A building that breathes provides the rhythm for life! The notion of breathing in architecture led to studies of the vital relationship between phenomenology and architecture; and by extension, the mind in architecture. In bridging neuroscience and the design process in architecture, Michael Arbib, both a theoretical neuro and computer scientist criticized the Cartesian modus operandi that led to “much architecture is theorized and taught solely in terms of focused vision”, while pointing out the reality that “we are embraced by space by means of our peripheral perception”. The methodology, or backbone, of this thesis is based on the lived experience, memories, and conscious/unconscious awareness of the fluctuating environment and mind. These experiences are documented by paying special attention to the peripheral consciousness of the world; at the same time by allowing the “focused vision” to temporarily dissolve, so to allow the persistent aspects to emerge/re-emerge, and come into focus once again as manifestation of acquired perception of intuition, of knowledge, of a hunch to dig deeper - a process of drawing out. Building on this methodology, the intention of this thesis considers the fundamental need for attunement concerning nature, the built environment, and its inhabitants, through examining and investigating the connections between architecture, phenomenology, and recent discoveries in neuroscience. In Attunement, Alberto Pérez-Gómez calls for “an architecture that can enhance our human values and capacities, an architecture that is connected - attuned - to its location and its inhabitants”. In a hyper-connected / hyper-disconnected contemporary milieu, this thesis puts forward the inquiries of sustainability, potentiality, compatibility, and the organic composition of a balanced social, cultural, and environmental ecology, in the context of Winnipeg’s riverfront. The culmination of this thesis project is manifested in multitude acts of bridging, and resulted in two bridges - one imaginary, one archetypical - that attempt to cross the same site/river, but with different understandings of the same site/ river, connected with a continuous investigation of the relationship between nature and human nature through the practice of architecture. What is an architectural practice? What is a bridge? What is a building? In what way does the act of bridging relate to the act of building? In what manner, to what end, and with what values? How does bridging relate to placemaking? How does a bridge breath? How can Winnipeg as a river city, enrich its relationship with its rivers via bridges / bridging?


1. Bridging I Finding Grounds 14

Study drawing of Brodsky & Utkin’s etching “A Bridge Above the Precipice in the High Mountain”, 1987


1. Bridging I Finding Grounds 15

1. Bridging I - Finding Grounds

On what grounds does a bridge stand? The architectural site for a bridge is bound by multiple grounds across a chasm: stable and unstable, permanent and ephemeral, real and perceived, physical and psychological, known and unknown. This thesis explores drawing as an architecture activity in the Heideggerian sense. In dwelling1, cultivating the land is a creative act that gives rise to food and building in-situ to provide shelter. Drawing, can be viewed in a similar manner; situated in the everyday life of dwelling, is an act of making presence, drawing out what is present but not yet perceived, a creative documentation of the everyday and everydayness, an act of building upon over time, a practice.

1 Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking� from Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. by Albert Hofstadter (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1971).


Drawing Out: Emergence / Evaporation Finding Grounds 16

9:45pm

Cooking Drawings [paper, steam, wall lamp, October 1st, 2017]

9:36pm

9:34pm


Drawing Out: Time Finding Grounds 17

10:54am

Smoking Drawings [visible smoke, sunlight, September 30th, 2017]

10:54am

10:55am


Memories: What Constitute a Place? Finding Grounds 18

Coastal Walk, Sydney, Australia

Tamarama Beach, Sydney, Australia

Wreck Beach, Vancouver, Canada

Iceberg Pool, Sydney, Australia

Public Ferry, Bangkok, Thailand

Bridge, Venice, Italy

(re)Collection of memories of experiences by water [film photography]


Memories: What Constitutes a Place? Finding Grounds 19

Coco Beach, Nice, France

Villefranche-sur-Mer, France

Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park, NYC, USA

Chao Phraya River, Bangkok, Thailand

Floating Village, Tonle Sap, Cambodia

Sailing on Finisterre, Gulf Islands, Canada


BDI Ice Cream: What Constitute a Place? Finding Grounds 20

Boundaries - coming in and going out of

Horizons - accommodating different points of view

Photo essay of the atmosphere of a place - BDI Ice Cream and Elm Park Bridge c.1912 (BDI Bridge) in Winnipeg 766 Jubilee Avenue BDI Ice Cream Pavilion c.1958 by Architect Leslie Stetchensen

Atmosphere - material light


BDI Ice Cream: What Constitutes a Place? Finding Grounds 21

Flow - generous plaza

Intimacy - windows for face to face interaction

Memories - love


Red River of the North Finding Grounds 22

Studies of Lake Winnipeg Watershed and area of Red River colonies based on a map produced by HY Hind John Arrowsmith. [Map of Part of the Valley of Red River North of the 49th Parallel (1858)] Orange highlights the river lots and Parishes of the Red River Settlement ca.1870


Fluvial Landscape Finding Grounds 23

Google Earth studies of Red River watershed and surrounding fluvial, agricultural, industrial, and social landscapes [Google Map Image]


downtown

st. matthews

west broadway

wolseley

ne iboi

r

rive

n

assi

potential crossing

wellington crescent

river heights


Site Study - Assiniboine River Crossing Finding Grounds

red

riv er

25

A curious water-main bridge stands oddly between two historical neighbourhoods - Wolseley and Wellington Crescent across the Assiniboine River in Winnipeg. Can it be activated as a piece of social infrastructure? The scale and density of the neighbourhoods in the vicinity of this potential crossing is a typical snapshot of Winnipeg’s urban sprawl condition. How does a bridge stitch together communities and cities? This site was selected for further investigation for adaptation of Bridging IV - Bridging Island Bridge, which is not yet pursued.

north / direction of flow

75m

70m

23m

110

m

direction flow 8m


l ita v st. orth n

Title Chapter 26

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ine o b i sin th as sou

al vit . t s uth so

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s

y rle e v wa est w

river bank / river lot personal bike route to university major bus routes road network train network proposed pedestrian / bicycle connection

y arr g t for outh s


ce ifa n bo t st. eas

Site Study - Red River Crossing Finding Grounds

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l ita v . st uth so

l ita v . st uth so

A piece of paradise lies across Red River at the southern edge of the City of Winnipeg. University of Manitoba, student residences, riverfront, river bottom forest, Red River, mud cliff, pristine tall grass prairie, remnants of an orchard farm from the Henteleff family (c.1912), residential/commercial communities in St. Vital. A bridge is an opportunity to expand the peripheries of the academic world, the bedroom communities, the car culture, to dissolve boundaries. Over time, a bridge matures into a jogging trail, a bike loop, a place to be, a place to reconnect. This is the site for Bridging IV - Bridging Island Bridge and Bridging V - A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge.

north / direction of flow

How does a bridge stitch together communities, cities, worlds?

27


Fluvial Time Finding Grounds 28

Above and Right Qualitative Site Model Studies of Red River at University of Manitoba- ephemeral nature, forces and energies [heat formed acrylic, light]


Fluvial Time Finding Grounds 29


Title Chapter 30


Fluvial Time Finding Grounds 31

Breathing Through Modeling / testing / altering perception in my studio apartment over the course of a day [heat formed acrylic, light] October 5th 2017 10:00am / 10:00pm


Temporal Ground Finding Grounds 32

Photo documentation of existing modular aluminium frame floating dock on site, with flexible hinged connections, plastic pontoon, and perforated non-slip plastic floor panels.


Fluvial Ground Finding Grounds 33

Marking of the path to the floating dock with branches found on site


Model Study - Floating Bridge Finding Grounds 34


Title Chapter 35

Study Model of A Floating Bridge and Floating Island Anchored Amidst the Current of Red River [red river clay, rock, brass rod, wire, wood]


Flux Finding Grounds 36

“ Into the same rivers we step and do not step, we are and are not.” - Heraclitus (500 BCE) (No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.)


Floating Bridge Finding Grounds 37

Floating Bridge on Red River [water colour, graphite, charcoal]


2. Bridging II Peripheral Consciousness 38

Study drawing [by Santiago Ramรณn y Cajal, 1693] of the severed peripheral nervous system and its unique ability to reconnect (bridge) to the main nervous system leading to the spinal cord and the brain. Orange highlights [by author] one of the newly established connections.


2. Bridging II Peripheral Consciousness 39

Consciousness Conscious and unconscious awareness of thought, of experience, of being, situated in the world (space, time, causality) For peripheral consciousness The peripheries emerge The periphery of sight, of sound, of smell, of temperature change, of air moving Air, movement, scent, the qualities of experience Giving rise to mood, emotions, atmosphere The periphery of the self, the world, the self in the flesh of the world As one experiences the world, the centre gradually shifts As the eye rotates and turns, the periphery too, rotates and expands To see through the peripheries, one has to look around in all directions, listen intently, breathe deeply, and be open to what comes into consciousness Looking through the periphery If there is no sound What do you see? If there is no light Listen through the periphery What do you feel? Have you lost your peripheral mind?


Essay Peripheral Consciousness 40 Seeing through the peripheries : Phenomenology in Poetic Place Making and Atmospheric Construction December 06, 2017

“How do you feel today? Are you optimistic about your life and work, happy about its apparent purpose, or are you discouraged, sad, perhaps even depressed? We commonly attribute such feelings to either the nature of our activities, to their factual and objective character, or to our own subjective brain chemistry. What we probably fail to realize is that while either of these attributions may be partially true, our feelings always coemerge with the rest of our bodily consciousness in perception. Our feelings are therefore located, bound to a particular place with its specific temporality and qualitative character.” 1 In the opening chapter of Attunement, Alberto Pérez-Gómez suggested our psychosomatic health is inherently “located” and “bound to a particular place” with a specific atmospheric quality that is in constant fluctuation in time. Understanding of the phenomenon of “consciousness in perception” draws out the instability and entropy of place in both the built and natural environment we live in and this could be manifested through a range of visual and motor sensory experiences. Shifting light and shadow qualities at different times of the day and year, movement of people, trees, animals, vehicles, changing of temperature by a small degree, and the ever changing acoustics of our environments would become part of this manifestation. These moments in time in a particular place may or may not be significant in the objective sense of the world, but they become essential qualities in the experienced world, as they are results of the embodiment of time and space expressed in Maurice MerleauPonty’s suggestive notion “the flesh of the world”. Conscious awareness of peripheral consciousness, thus accommodates the shifting qualities of time and space, so that we can better appreciate and comprehend the self and the world, towards a holistic sense of attunement. The understanding of peripheral consciousness does not only affect the experience of our environment and how we design for our environment, as the title of this paper suggests, seeing (understanding) through the peripheries can in turn be creative methods of architectural imagination for poetic place making and atmospheric construction. In bridging neuroscience and the design process in architecture, Michael Arbib criticized the Cartesian modus operandi that led to “much architecture is theorized and taught solely in terms of focused vision”, while pointing out the reality that “we are embraced by space by means of our peripheral perception”2. Periphery, by definition, is the outer limits or the edge of an area or object, a shift from the centre3. What are the limits? Where are the boundaries? Where is the centre? Periphery, in contrast to the centre of attention/action, is often overlooked or neglected. Peripheral consciousness, in contrast to distraction, should be cultivated for creative thinking and active making. To see or understand through the peripheries, one has to engage not only the visual senses but all senses combined, including the peripheral senses (ie. through arm, hand, muscle, joint, finger, skin), followed through processes of metamorphoses both of the senses felt and information conveyed, so to understand and comprehend the world in the holistic sense. To the same effect, one only has to consciously move the body to establish a new peripheral boundary. Through this cumulative act of living the world, one could continuously expand the sense of periphery to its limits. With it, the centre expands and dissolves -becoming “the flesh of the world”. 1 2 3

Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Attunement Architectural Meaning After the Crisis of Modern Science (Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2016), 1-11. Michael Arbib, “Toward A Neuroscience of The Design Process,” in Mind in Architecture (Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2015), 75-98. Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., s.v. “Periphery.”


Essay Peripheral Consciousness 41 This expansion of peripheral sense has been explored in other disciplines. In the opening lecture The Riddle of Poetry by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges held at Harvard in 1967-1968, Borges reminds us “poetry is not alien - poetry is, as we shall see, lurking around the corner. It may spring on us at any moment”, for Borges, life is “made of poetry”4. Poetry, thus, is lurking around in the peripheries, waiting to be discovered. Life and poetry, poetry and periphery. In a poetic place, making and atmospheric construction, seeing through the peripheries becomes a creative method, and a mode of thinking and creating architecture is the foundation for engagement in my thesis project: A building that breathes, bridging the everyday life of nature and human nature. It is the duality of breathing, bridging, nature and human nature, that spins the everyday life and the periphery of the everyday life into a passionate dance. In a hyper-connected / hyper-disconnected contemporary milieu, this thesis puts forward the inquiries of sustainability, potentiality, compatibility, and the organic composition of a balanced social, cultural, and environmental ecology. Through the manifestation of the embodied everyday architectural practice and discovery, this thesis looks for methods to construct atmosphere as “mindful physical presence in space”, as German philosopher Gernot Böhme orchestrated in an important journal in the understanding of mind and architecture, and the practice of mindful atmospheric construction5. In the same journal, in speaking of Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses, Juhani Pallasmaa liken Wright’s sensibility to the environment to “the environmental conditions of the early human development on the African savannah, and consequently, they provide a strong sense of protection and well-being even today”. Wright’s houses, as Pallasmaa noted, “provide this duality of a protective centre and an open peripheral vista”6. In this thesis proposition, the Red River in Winnipeg is considered as the site for a series of bridges that will provide a place to experience the river while bridging the communities along the river closer together. As a river city, how can Winnipeg enrich the peripheral conditions of its phenomenal river front via bridges / bridging? This thesis suggests different ways of providing such connections by building upon existing situations and circumstances along the river: the site(s), the histories, the stories, and the memories: to provide a place to reconnect. The program of the thesis is rooted in and built-upon its sites: the new architectural ground on water (island/bridge/pier), the approach to the landings (temporal/permanent), in relationship to the existing and imagined conditions (real/perceived). This notion of seeing through the peripheries was further developed and tested over the course of the thesis, along with their necessary atmospheric ingredients, which manifested in the acts of bridging in different scales throughout the thesis journey. This essay does not offer a conclusion, as peripheral consciousness does not have a limit. Seeing through, is a continuous act of in-betweenness, in between breaths, in between knowing and the unknown, in between living, in between worlds. 4 5 6

Jorge Luis Borges, “1 The Riddle of Poetry” in This Craft of Verse (Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press. 2000), 1-19. Gernot Böhme, “Atmosphere as Mindful Physical Presence in Space.” in OASE #91, Building Atmosphere (December 2013): 21-32. Juhani Pallasmaa, “Orchestrating Architecture: Atmosphere in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Buildings.” in OASE #91, Building Atmosphere (December 2013): 53-58.

d? you feel? heral min p ri What do e p r u st yo ve you lo ry Ha

t phery If there is no ligh he the perip h g u ro th Listen

peri rough the th g in k o Lo no sound If there is you see? What do

University of Manitoba, Red River, Henteleff Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba [Google Map Image]


42


3. Bridging III Atmospheric Construction 43

3. Bridging III - Atmospheric Construction

With thought, with care, with criticality, with beauty. Only through making, can one construct atmosphere. Only through acts, can one truly appreciate atmospheric construction. In October 2017, Professor Eduardo Aquino led his Social Infrastructure Studio to Mexico City to study the vibrant urbanism in a city of 21 million inhabitants. Throughout the two weeks exploring Mexico City, I was deeply drawn to the city’s vernacular architecture, especially Luis Barrigán’s sensitivities to the light and life in Mexico City. Together with influences from the chaotic and vital market scenes in the city, a series of urban interventions were carried out in a single day - Orange Laundry, Yellow Curtain, and Tiny Lights - all on the same street (Gral. Francisco Murguia) where I called home for a couple weeks. Following this event, a series of atmospheric (re)construction is manifested in University of Manitoba. This approach of cultivating serendipity in a particular place for atmospheric construction is exercised throughout the thesis inquiry. The set-up of the final review attempt to manifest these episodes of atmospheric constructions in the building scale - the review space, by not only relating the artefacts to each others, but also orienting to the existing architecture of the room, extending to the context of the building / campus grid / cardinal directions / cosmos.

Left: Bridging [Mexico City, photo essay]


Door / Worlds Atmospheric Construction 44

Atmospheric Reconstruction of Steel and Glass Door [photo collage] JosĂŠ Guadalupe Covarrubias 101, Mexico City, Mexico


Door / Worlds Atmospheric Construction 45


Luis Barrigรกn Reflections Atmospheric Construction 46 world beyond world light and darkness smooth and rough gritty and alive world beyond world safeguarding the world dwelling in the world with light with water with colour with life

or

ien ta

tio

n

Luis Barrigรกn Cuadra San Cristรณbal


Luis Barrigรกn Reflections Atmospheric Construction 47 subtle is the shadow deep in the cool air in between in air shifting with time in imagination imagining a childhood a life imagining an event unfolding

Luis Barrigรกn Casa Gilardi


Luis Barrigán Reflections Atmospheric Construction 48

betwe n bil boards, highways, and cites

betwe n bil boards, highways, and cites seitc dna ,syawhgih ,sdraobl ib ne wteb Luis Barrigán Torres de Satélite


Luis Barrigรกn Reflections Atmospheric Construction 49

space in between

space

in public mutual relationships space in between above and beyond space Luis Barrigรกn Capilla de las Capuchinas

place


Tiny Lights Atmospheric Construction 50

Documentation of the purchase and transportation of bubble wrap from the chaotic order of Mercado La Merced and Mexico City metro.


Tiny Lights Atmospheric Construction 51

Atmospheric Construction Tiny Lights General Francisco Murguia, Col. Escandon, Mexico City [bubble wrap]


Mediation Atmospheric Construction 52

Light and shadow in the fullest spectrum of nature Awakens the conscious seeing of the world In sound In colour In temperature In touch In breath


Mediation Atmospheric Construction 53

[heat formed acrylic panel]


Breathing Light Atmospheric Construction 54

[rice paper panels]


Time Atmospheric Construction 55

Snow is Time Made Visible Rain is Air Made Tangible Time is Sun and Moon Dancing

[heat formed acrylic panel]


Yellow Curtain Atmospheric Construction 56


Yellow Curtain Atmospheric Construction 57

Atmospheric Reconstruction Luis Barragan’s Yellow Light General Francisco Murguia #88, Col. Escandon, Mexico City [yellow double layered vinyl]


Orange Laundry Atmospheric Construction 58

Laundromat night and day

Studies of Mexico City market streets

Atmospheric Construction Orange Laundry General Francisco Murguia #134, Col. Escandon, Mexico City [orange double layered vinyl, orange rope]


Orange Laundry Atmospheric Construction 59


Midterm Review Fall 2017 Atmospheric Construction 60

Atmospheric Reconstruction Orange Laundry and Yellow Light University of Manitoba [orange and yellow double layered vinyl, orange rope]


Midterm Review Fall 2017 Atmospheric Construction 61

Breathing-in Fall, Breathing-in Winter, Breathing-in Spring, Breathing-in Summer...


Title Chapter 62

Atmospheric Reconstruction Night and Day Orange Laundry and Yellow Light University of Manitoba [orange and yellow double layered vinyl, orange rope]


Title Chapter 63


Final Review Winter 2018 Title Chapter Atmospheric Construction 64


Final Review Winter 2018 Title Atmospheric Construction Chapter 65


Final Review Winter 2018 Atmospheric Construction 66 “The sense that I try to instill into materials is beyond all rules of composition, and their tangibility, smell, and acoustic qualities are merely elements of the language that we are obliged to use. Sense emerges when I succeed in bringing out the specific meanings of certain materials in my buildings, meanings that can only be perceived in just this way in this one building.” –Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture

The multi-scale bridge assemblage model is oriented to the siting of the bridge - cardinal east-west direction (vs. campus grid / The River Long Lot Survey), aligning with the impressive smoke stacks of the central energy plant seen outside the building windows, reminding us the invisible forces that supports the activities of THIS PLACE and THIS VERY ROOM. The smoke stacks become a symbolic bridge. 1:1 model of the pier shelter/bird blind 1:1 construction of the railing post 1:100 model of west abutment and central pier cantilever spans [cedar, basswood, plywood, weathered fir wood, weathered steel, tyndall stone, red river stone, steel, aluminium, brass, concrete, acrylic paint] [Atmospheric Photo by Ted Landrum]


Final Review Winter 2018 Atmospheric Construction 67

Bridging atmosphere and memories [Atmospheric Photo by Ted Landrum]


Final Review Winter 2018 Atmospheric Construction 68

“Construction is the art of making a meaningful whole out of many parts. Buildings are witnesses to the human ability to construct concrete things. I believe that the real core of all architectural work lies in the act of construction.” –Peter Zumthor, Thinking Architecture


Final Review Winter 2018 Atmospheric Construction 69

[Panoramic Photo by Eduardo Aquino]


4. Bridging IV Bridging Island Bridge 70

4.

3.

2.

1.

Axonometric Drawing - Bridging Island Bridge 1. Floating Bridge 2. Draw Bridge 3. Ramp 4. Flexible Beam Bridge


4. Bridging IV Bridging Island Bridge 71

4. Bridging IV - Bridging Island Bridge

What makes a bridge? On what grounds does a floating bridge stand? How is the bridge anchored? How does bridging relate to place making? Two floating barges are linked to make an island anchored in Red River, accessible from its two banks - University of Manitoba and St. Vital, connected by a floating bridge, a draw bridge, a meandering ramp, and a flexible beam bridge. A bridge is to bridge the island of dreams to the world. In this case, multiple bridges are desired: a floating bridge from the university grounds in Fort Garry to this floating island anchored amidst the flow of the Red River, then to a vertical bridge (ramp) from the island to a flexible beam bridge that finally connects to the higher grounds (landing) of Henteleff Park in St. Vital on the opposite side. The reverse order is also true but the experience radically different, the landing alone makes all the difference. In this sense, the island of dreams has the affordance to permeate in multiple directions (emanation), emerging as not merely an island isolated in the world, but an island that bridges the worlds. The island itself as a bridge (embodiment). In the depths of winter, when the river freezes into a single thick sheet of ice, this island is held in place by this event, connected to the world by the river itself, the river becomes the bridge, witnessing together with its inhabitants the accumulation of time, in the form of snow and ice. In the blossoming of spring, this island is once again set free, able to respond and shift once again with the force of the current and the breaking of ice, witnessing together with its inhabitants the passing of time. Bridging Island Bridge.


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red river

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Site Studies Bridging Island Bridge 73

M1 Fall 2016 - Radical Campus - The Bell Struck: Heuristic Discoveries

M1 Fall 2016 - Radical Campus - Music Pavilion at Red River

ver

d ri

fp lef

M1 Winter 2017 - Radical Campus - A Radical Note: Places of Discord and Concord

M2 Fall 2017 - Social Infrastructure - Bridging Island Bridge

north / direction of flow

nte

he

ark

l ita v . th st ou s

M2 Winter 2018 - Social Infrastructure - A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge


Site Study - Henteleff Park Bridging Island Bridge 74


Site Study - Henteleff Park Bridging Island Bridge 75


Dock - Bridge Bridging Island Bridge 76

Proposition 1 - Extend the existing modular floating dock on Red River

Proposition 2 - Continue to extend the dock until it becomes a bridge that crosses the Red River A simple pontoon bridge that employs the Winnipeg vernacular.


Movement - Passage Bridging Island Bridge 77

Proposition 3 - Arching the mid-section to allow for passage of boats

Proposition 4 - Pivoting the mid-section to allow for passage of boats


Precedent Studies - Bridge as Social Infrustructure Bridging Island Bridge 78

Q’eswachaka Rope Bridge - Cusco, Peru

[Source: http://blog.nmai.si.edu/main/2017/08/qeswachaka-inka-bridge.html]

Ganzhou Fuqiao (floating bridge) 1940 to current - Ganzhou, China [Source: http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dongjin_Bridge]

Bridge School by Li Xiaodong Atelier - Fujian, China

[Source: https://www.archdaily.com/45409/school-bridge-xiaodong-li]


Precedent Studies - Bridge as Social Infrustructure Bridging Island Bridge 79

Chaozhou Guangj Bridge in 1869 - Chaozhou, China

[Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photographs_of_Guangji_Bridge_(Chaozhou)_by_John_Thomson]

Ganzhou Fuqiao (floating bridge) 1940 to current - Ganzhou, China [Source: http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Dongjin_Bridge]

Left to right: Conical Intersect, 1975; Splitting, 1974; Rope Bridge, 1968 Gordon Matta-Clark

Elm Park Pontoon Bridge, 1914 - Winnipeg, Canada [Source:http://peel.library.ualberta.ca/postcards/PC001756.html]

[Matta-Clark, Gordon, James Attlee, Lisa Le Feuvre. Gordon Matta-Clark: The Space Between. UK: Nazraeli Press, 2003.]

The Floating Piers by Christo and Jeanne-Claude 2014-2016 - Lake Iseo, Italy [Source: http://christojeanneclaude.net]


Title Chapter 80

Bridging Study 1

Bridging Study 2


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 81


Bridge Study - Night-time Henteleff Park Approach Title Chapter Island Bridge Bridging 82


Bridge Study - Day-time Henteleff Park Approach Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 83


A Building that Breathes Bridging 84


A Building that Approach Breathes An Island of Dreams - UofM Bridging IslandBridging Bridge 85


Sketch Studies Bridging Island Bridge 86

Section detail of aluminium barge system - integrated railing, lighting, electrical, and drainage

Top: Floating pontoon bridge section Bottom: Anchoring cleat detail

Top: Column / light study Middle: Draw bridge section to allow passage of large boats Bottom: Hinged beam bridge to allow for water level variation


Island / Barge Studies Bridging Island Bridge 87

Top: Sectional drawing of Island / Barge with a forest of columns anchored in frozen Red River, draw bridge operation to allow passage of large boats Bottom: Physical massing models of Island / Barge


Model Studies Bridging Island Bridge 88

Top: Plan and Section Studies of the Floating Island Above and Right: Model Studies of the Floating Bridge and Island [wood, laminated glass, brass]


Model Studies Bridging Island Bridge 89

Model Studies of the Floating Bridge and Island [wood, laminated glass, brass]


Model Studies Bridging Island Bridge 90

Above and Right: Model Studies of the Floating Bridge and Island [wood, laminated glass, dichroic glass, brass]


Dichroic Glass Bridging Island Bridge 91

The wall of dichroic glass parallel to Pembina Hall Residence is perceived both as a receptor and a mediator between the context of the bridge and the ephemeral nature of the environment - changing of seasons throughout the year, changing of light throughout the day. The intensified experience through the dichroic glass together with the shifting motion of the floating island would amplify the atmospheric quality of the place through time. The highly reflective Gold-Blue dichroic is selected to allow the interplay between the sun, the ambient light, the context of the school, and the forest of columns on the island - generating shifting dialogues in-between worlds: the school, the residential neighbourhood, the river, the bridge, the island, and the self.

Copper-Bronze Dichroic Laminated Glass

Gold-Blue Dichroic Laminated Glass

Reflection Visible 29% Transmission Visible 71% Transmitted Energy 55% Reflected Energy 29% Absorbed Energy 17% SHGC 0.59

Reflection Visible 89% Transmission Visible 11% Transmitted Energy 56% Reflected Energy 29% Absorbed Energy 15% SHGC 0.61


1:100 Model Study - Floating Barges Bridging Island Bridge 92

Sketch and model study of hinged barges supported on 21 peculiar brass legs, analogous to floating nature of the barges anchored to the river bed.


Title Chapter 93

Model of hinged floating barges supported on 21 peculiar brass legs A balancing act [cedar, brass]


Title Chapter 94

Bridging Island Bridge [cedar, brass, acrylic, dichroic glass ]


Title Chapter 95


1:100 Model Study - Floating Barges Bridging Island Bridge 96

Model view from island / barge, dichroic glass wall

Model view of dichroic glass wall with barges apart


1:100 Model Study - Floating Barges Bridging Island Bridge 97

Model view of pavilion, forest of columns, and undulating ground

Model view of pavilion roof level


Bridging Sequence Bridging Island Bridge 98

Bridging Sequence

1. Anchoring Marine Buoys

2. Anchoring Small Barge

3. Anchoring Large Barge

Plan - Bridging Island Bridge

Experiential Sequence Studies Left to Right: From University of Manitoba to St. Vital Crossing Red River

4. Draw Bridge Retracted to Allow Passing of Large Vessels

World Beyond World

5. Draw Bridge Connected to Allow Passing of People and Securing the Island

6. Forrest of Aluminium Columns and a Screen of Dichroic Glass


Bridging Sequence Bridging Island Bridge 99

7. Undulating Cedar Grounds for Play and Contemplation of Space and Time

8. A Pavilion and a Floating Bridge Connection to UofM

9. Post and Beam System for Additional Levels

10. Three Levels Over 6m as a Landing

11. A Flexible Bridge is Hinged on to the Landings, Able to Move and Respond to the Water Level

12. Bridging Island Bridge


Floating Bridge Approach - UofM Bridging Island Bridge 100

Perspective drawing - Floating bridge approach from UofM


1:100 Model Study - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 101

Top View - 1:100 Model - An Island of Dream [cedar, acrylic, dichroic glass, plastic figures, snow ]

Undulating ground detail

Dichroic glass detail`

Hinge connection detail

Folding / Bridging


Title Chapter 102


Reflection / Extention Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 103


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 104

Two floating barges are anchored (hinged) side by side, a new bridge, a new island ...


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 105

Two floating barges are anchored (hinged) side by side, a new bridge, a new island ...


Title Chapter 106


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 107

Building Dwelling Thinking Location Space Place In Time A Bridge to Connect To the Past, the Present, and the Future; To the Built and the Imagined; To the Alchemized and the Digested, Knowledge of the World The Knowledge of Dwelling To Breathe To Be


Title Chapter 108


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 109

Along this bridge An Island An island with order and freedom An island of grids in perceivable scales An island of dreams of wonders of seas The river the river the river that goes into the sea The sea the sea the ocean River sea ocean Seasons Time

A landscape


Title Chapter 110

Snow Is Blue Quiet Like Orchestra Only the Dark-Eyed Junco Sings


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 111

An edge


Title Chapter 112


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 113

Bridging Island Bridge Paths and rituals anew, emerging through the peripheries from here to there, coming and going a bridge capable of generating other kinds of bridges In context when the periphery expands new patterns emerge and come into consciousness new possibilities new routes, new routines out of the ordinary Imagine


Title Chapter 114

On this Island A forest of aluminium columns Aluminium, luminosity Brushed, honed, sanded, polished, ribbed Situated in the sun in moonlight in snow in water As light


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 115


Title Chapter 116


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 117

The forest of columns anchored in the world supported by the temporal, undulating grounds Together, they become the social infrastructure of this bridge Together, they make a place: a plaza, a pavilion, a stage, a tempered, breathing room A place to gather, to celebrate, to contemplate, and to learn. A Meeting place - of Nature and Human Nature


Title Chapter 118


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 119

_ Cities Rivers Bridges Bridging Connecting Bridges Cities

I-I


Title Chapter 120

On this Island A Classroom A Classroom for the School of Agricultural and Food Sciences Architecture Art Business Engineering Environment, Earth, and Resources Health Sciences Kinesiology and Recreation Management Law Music Science Social Work and Life A Classroom for Life


An Island of Dreams Title Bridging IslandChapter Bridge 121


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 122

A building that breathes, going and coming to and from opposite sides Somewhere in the middle there is a place for balance A landing, a bank, an edge, an island, a bridge, a different landing A building thus consolidates and reconciles the opposites to provide a place somewhere between the opposites So to accommodate the coming and going to and from


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 123

A meander


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 124

Bridging - Elevation Studies


1:100 Model - An Island of Dreams Bridging Island Bridge 125


5. Bridging V A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 126

“It is not the emblematic detail of replacing a two with a three, nor that barren metaphor that brings together a time that dies and another coming up nor yet the rounding out of some astronomical process that stuns and undermines the altiplano of this night, and compels us to keep listening for those twelve irreparable tollings of a bell. The true cause is a vague, pervasive apprehension of Time’s enigma; a certain awe before the miracle that in spite of infinite random possibilities, in spite of the fact that we ourselves are droplets in the stream of Heraclitus, there is something in us that endures: something unbudgeable, that didn’t find what it was looking for.” [Jorge Luis Borges, “Year’s End”, The Collected Poems of Jorge Luis Borges, trans. R. Mezey and R. Barnes.]


5. Bridging V A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 127

5. Bridging V - A Pedestrian / Cyclist

What is a building? What is a bridge? What is in the act of bridging? How does building relate to bridging? What makes a place? A bridge for pedestrian and cyclist traffic over the Red River in Winnipeg, Canada. An East-West oriented cambered bridge with varying width of 4-5m, stretching 339m - of which 180m is across the meandering channel of the Red River - stands between University of Manitoba in Fort Garry and Henteleff Park in St. Vital. A single pier in the river and the abutments on either side of the river support the four cantilever parabolic sections which make up the bridge crossing. Site specific pavilions / platforms / landscape features are designed to provide a place to pause along the way or to allow for events to take place. Landscape components, such as paved pathways, mounds, intimate plazas in different sizes, and street furniture, are markers in the landscape, stitching together the existing urban fabric and the natural landscape with the proposed bridge. Building and Bridging New possibilities New routes New routines Out of the ordinary Imagine


A University A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 128

Student Life - History of Tache Hall 1911-2011 [Source: Leo Pettipas, History of TachĂŠ Hall: Celebrating a Century of Residence Life at the University of Manitoba 1911-2011, Winnipeg ]

A House - Greenhouse, UofM

October 17th, 2017 @ 1:30pm Project Site

A House - Pembina Hall Residence, UofM

September 12th, 2017 @ 6:00pm

November 9th, 2017 @ 12pm

February 26th, 2018 @ 1:00pm

March 9th, 2018 @ 4:30pm


A House A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 129

A House - Homes, St. Vital

March 22nd, 2018 @ 5:00pm

March 29th, 2018 @ 8:00pm

April 6th, 2018 @ 5:00pm

April 12th, 2018 @ 5:30pm

April 14th, 2018 @ 2:00pm


Bridging Archetype - House A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 130

“ The house shelters daydreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.” - Gaston Barchelard, The Poetics of Space

Archetype Collage - The House Based on Nick Misani’s cover illustration for The Poetics of Space by Gaston Bachelard


Bridging Archetype - Grain Elevator A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 131

Archetype Collage - Artificial Agricultural Landscape [photo collage of grain elevators documented along the highways of Winnipeg]


Precedent Studies - Archetypes A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 132

Coalbrookdale Bridge, England - Cast Iron Arch c.1779 [Source: https://www.ironbridge.org.uk/our-story/the-iron-bridge/]

Tarr Steps stone clapper bridge over the River Barle in Somerset, England c.1000bc [Source:http://viewfinder.english-heritage.org.uk/]

Passerelle Saint Georges, Lyon France c. 1852 87.5m Free Span [Source: http://www.photosdom.fr/Ville-de-lyon/ville-de-lyon-en-photos/ Quai_de_saone/passerellestgeorges.html]

Mathematical Bridge, Cambridge by William Etheridge c. 1749 [Source: https://www.queens.cam.ac.uk/life-at-queens/about-thecollege/college-facts/mathematical-bridge]

Tavanasa Bridge by Robert Maillart, Ladholz Switzerland c. 1906 [Source: https://structurae.net/structures/tavanasa-bridge]

Schaffhausen Bridge, Switzerland by Ulrich Grubenmann c. 1795 [Source:http://www.zeughausteufen.ch/das-grubenmann-museum/]

Q’eswachaka, Cusco Peru c. 13th Century [Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/blogs/national-museumamerican-indian/2017/08/05/qeswachaka-last-inka-suspension-bridge/]

Seven Phases in the Evolution of Old London Bridge, 1208-1831 [Source: Living Bridges: The Inhabited Bridge, Past, Present and Future]

Ponte Vecchio, Bassano by Andrea Palladio c. 1569 [Source: https://vitendenza.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/mariga-enotecaa-bassano/]

The medieval stone bridge at Lavertezzo in Verzasca valley, Switzerland c. 17th Century [Source: http://maxpixel.freegreatpicture.com/Ticino-Nature-RockVersascatal-Bridge-Scenic-1742592]

Schaffhausen Bridge, Switzerland by Ulrich Grubenmann c. 1795 [Source:http://www.zeughausteufen.ch/das-grubenmann-museum/]

Chain Bridge “Kettensteg” by Johann Georg Kuppler, Nuremberg Germany c. 1824 [Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kettensteg_ Nürnberg_02.JPG]

Chaozhou Guangji Bridge [Source: Photographed by John Thomson in 1869]


Precedent Study - Forth Bridge A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 133

Forth Bridge cantilever system human model - Edinburgh Scotland c.1888

[Source: Peters, Tom F., The Development of Long-Span Bridge Building, Sweden: Interbook, 1981]

Forth Bridge Construction - Edinburgh Scotland c.1888

[Source: Peters, Tom F., The Development of Long-Span Bridge Building, Sweden: Interbook, 1981]

Forth Bridge - 2,467m with 520m spans Edinburgh Scotland c.1890

[Source: Peters, Tom F., The Development of Long-Span Bridge Building, Sweden: Interbook, 1981]


Living Bridge - Chaozhou Guangji Bridge A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 134

A Living, Breathing Bridge Chaozhou Guangji Bridge, Photographed by John Thomson in 1869 [Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Photographs_of_Guangji_Bridge_(Chaozhou)_by_John_Thomson]


Stitching / Bridging A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 135 Stitching detail of 1:1000 site model was inspired by the stitches I had at the time. [cedar, walnut wood veneer, wire]


Site Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 136

Water

Smoke Stacks - UofM

West-East Site Section Profile - UofM to Henteleff Park

Vegetation

River Bottom Forest - UofM

Sidewalks

River Bank


Site Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 137

Roads

Water

Buildings

River Bottom Forest - Henteleff Park

Tall Grass Prairie - Henteleff Park


Context Plan A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 138


Site Study - West Abutment at UofM A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 139


Bus Loop

Engineering Lab

School of Agriculture

Diary Science

Tache Hall / Arts Complex

Grain Storage Research

ArtLab

School of Music

Maclean Crescent

R.V.M. Residence

Central Energy Plant (Smoke Stacks)

Greenhouse Parking Lot

School of Business

Loading / Pedestrian Mews to Bus Loop Pembina Hall Residence

ent

resc

nC

dma

Free Mary Speechly Hall Residence

Chester’s Park

Park Space West Abutment

Parking Lot (Previous proposed site for a concert hall by author)

Physical Plant

Alumni Lane

Dafoe Road

University of Manitoba

River Pavilion Seasonally Flooded River Bottom Forest

Freedman Crescent Parking Lot

Bridge Pier

Storage Residence

Cliff Edge / River Bottom Forest

East Abutment

Re

dR

ive

r

Henteleff Park

nort

h/d

irec

tion

of fl

ow

Park Pavilion

Pristine Tall Grass Prairie

Site Context Plan

Paved Pathway

Proposed Parking

Norman Park Neighborhood

Site Axonometric - Looking North


Placemaking Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 141 “The place is not already there before the bridge is. Before the bridge stands, there are of course many spots along the stream that can be occupied by something. One of them proves to be a place, and does so because of the bridge. Thus the bridge does not come first to a place to stand in it; rather a place comes into existence only by virtue of the bridge.” [Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking” in Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. A Hofstadter (London: Harper & Row. 1971), 154.]

Placemaking - Siting Considerations What are the bounds of the architectural notion of a “site” for a bridge? How does bridging relate to placemaking? The siting of the bridge is based on orientations: orientation of the cosmos, orientation of the river current, orientation of topography, orientation of the University, orientation of the vegetation, orientation of boundaries, orientation of horizons, orientation of paths and rituals, both established and new. In Heidegger for Architects by Adam Sharr, in contemplating how the placement, or “concretization” of a bridge gives rise to a place and begins its “presencing” in the world, he compared the placement of Heidegger’s hypothetical bridge to setting up a picnic blanket in a park. Along with the bread, gourmet cheeses, fruits, etc., the siting of the picnic blanket, seating arrangement, placement of basket, glassware, and wine bottle, all serve as a place identifier. “The organization of the picnic is a choreography of small-scale place identifications In Heideggerian terms a site has been gathered; the picnic has been placed. Numerous places have come into existence by virtue of the picnic. When the meal is packed away and gone, the place of the picnic might live on in the minds of the picnickers...” [Adam Sharr, “How a Place Happens” in Heidegger for Architects (London: Routledge. 2007), 52-55.]

Through direct experience and memory of an event, a place begins to establish its presence. The placement of the first abutment of a bridge is such an event which initials a place to unfold. The west abutment of the bridge is located at University of Manitoba south of Pembina Hall Residence (Freemen Crescent), across Red River to the east abutment - boundary between Henteleff Park and Norman Park in South St. Vital. The elevation of the UofM river bank, el. 233.00m, is 2.2m higher than the St. Vital side, el.230.80m. Currently it takes 45 min by bus to get to U of M from South St. Vital, 15 min by car, 25 min by bicycle, and 1hr 15min by foot. A single pier anchored to the bedrock of the Red River provides a new ground for placemaking. “The bridge is a thing and only that. Only? As this thing it gathers the fourfold.” [Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking” in Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. A Hofstadter (London: Harper & Row. 1971), 153.]


Concretization A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 142

Proposition 1 - Two bridges meet amidst the currents of the Red River. One open, oriented to the cardinal east-west direction, and one covered, oriented towards the campus grid. Two bridges crosses over each other and are bridged again with a shortcut a building that breathes. The covered bridge sits precariously on the cliff of Henteleff Park, as if the bridge could float. It is the romantic in the sublime.

1:1000 Site Model Studies

Proposition 1,2,3 - More bridges meet amidst the currents of the Red River. One open, one covered, and so on, zig-zagging their ways across the landscape, trying to find the place. The place that bridges the landscapes, the place that stitches the places, and the place bring about human action. The place that would become a special place.


Concretization A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 143

Proposition 4 - Following the life lines of people who would use this bridge, a bridge begins its presencing. The considerations of the fluvial nature of the site(s) provided clues to in ways concretize the bridge’s archetypical elements - abutments, pier, deck, and railing.

Proposition 5 - The proposed bridge is oriented to the cardinal East-West direction, in contrast to the angled campus grid. A single pier with two abutments support the bridge. The placement of the UofM abutment serves both the automobile oriented and pedestrian oriented campus access routes, with emphasis on the pedestrian route leading to the recently densified area of the campus (TachĂŠ Arts Project) and to the relocated transit loop north of the TachĂŠ Arts Project. The Henteleff Park abutment continues to mark the natural division between Henteleff Park (remnant of a farm of the Henteleff family) and a pristine patch of tall grass prairie. For minimal disturbance to the indigenous landscape, the bridge abutment is set back 38m from the shear force venerable mud cliff, while also allowing existing matured trails to meander beneath the bridge. A single pier in the river marks the gathering of the fourfold - Earth and Sky, Divinities and Mortals.


144

Pembina Hall Residence

School of Business

To Art Bus Lo op SchLab ool of M usic

Title Plan Site Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge

an edm Fre scent Cre

t” oin “P d y he Fiel rator T o e o il t ultur Lab a r T ric rch Ag sea Re

Mary Speechly Hall Residence Chester’s Park To Central Energy Plant Arch II Russell Building

West Abutment

n ma ed nt Fre esce r C

River Bottom Forest

University of Manitoba UofM River Pavilion

l

a nti de esi od R o o il t orh Tra ighb Ne

Trail to Henteleff Park Cliff Edge / River Bottom Forest

Henteleff Park

Public Washroom Water Feature

Henteleff Park Pavilion

r ive dR

Plaza

Re

nort h/d

irec

tion

of fl ow

Pristine Tall Grass Prairie

East Abutment

Trail to Norman Park

To Residential Neighborhood


Design Rationale and Technical Considerations Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 145 “A footbridge’s balustrades, parapets, hand rails, surfacing, niches and balconies should take into account that people will not only walk across it, but would also like to stop for a moment, lean against it, rest on it, sit down and look around, or just be alone - and that whatever they do, they will touch it. Thus, a footbridge does not remain just a bridge, but matures into a jogging track, a boulevard, a promenade, a place for a rendezvous and, finally, a landmark.” [Mike Schlaich, Ursula Bause, Footbridges: Structure Design History (Basel: Birkhauser, 2008), 12.]

Design Rationale and Technical Considerations How can the design of the bridge be consequential and reflective of its particular site conditions? How do the constituents of a bridge contribute to its experiential qualities? How does a bridge breathe? A review of technical considerations regards the bridge as an archetype and examines each constituent of the bridge for potential engagement as architectural inquiry. Approaching from the experiential qualities of a bridge, the design began with its deck, pier, and railing, which are elements for human engagement and also the integral constituents of its structural system. This desired unity of form and function became the guiding principle for the bridge design, which logically helps to narrow down the possible solutions from the overwhelmingly rich history and possibilities of foot bridge design. Demand for system efficiency of a bridge means that the profile of the deck must be an integral part of the bridge structure. A low profile bridge is also desirable so the bridge can exist in harmony within the natural setting. To satisfy these intentions, a long span lenticular truss (or fish-belly truss) system, and medium span cantilevered box girder beam system were considered and tested. The cantilevered system is used in the current design to shorten the span and eliminating any under structures to provide sufficient clearance for future floods and rising water level concerns. A 160 year flood is used as a benchmark (229.80m), as used for the design of Esplanade Riel in Downtown Winnipeg. The uniqueness of site conditions are major factors that guided the design rationale. The bending of the river as a result of its act of meandering presents both challenges and opportunities for the bridge design. The faster current at the outside of the bend (UofM) is resulting in erosion of the bank and a deeper river bed, while the slower current at the inside of the bend (St. Vital) is generating deposition of the bank and a shallower river bed. As a consequence, a single pier in the river offset to the inside of the bend with slower current and shallower water is desirable in order to minimize environmental impacts and material and construction cost. This pier supports two balanced cantilevered arms above the river, creating an eccentric but efficient bridge. The cardinal East-West axis of the bridge is contrasting the angled campus grid, which was a result of The River Long Lot Survey established in 1813, created long river farm lots consisted of a 200m river frontage and a strip reaching two miles back (3.2km). The supporting pier is skewed 60 degree from the bridge span for it to run perpendicular to the river current, for optimal hydrodynamic and ice breaking capacity. This unusual situation is investigated and documented in a design study (Perth Narrows Bridge, unbuilt) by Ove Arup1, which provided insight for a plausible solution for this design challenge. The resulting solution generated a small plaza on top of the pier, which represents a celebration of the joining of forces, a meeting place for the fourfold: earth and sky, divinities and mortals2. This situation also lead to the opportunities for the users to engage the pier in a direct way (as a plaza), so the pier does not only support the bridge, it also supports life on the bridge. The bridge also addresses the 2.5m elevation difference between the two banks with considerable different sectional profiles. Although the St. Vital bank is experiencing deposition of soil, its significant vertical profile of 5m means potential shear failure of the bank should be taken into consideration. As a result the abutment of this end is set back 38m from the bank’s edge in order to avoid expensive and environmentally sensitive operation of installing large shear control keys for bank stabilization. Rock-filled gabion walls are used as retaining walls and the public washroom at the park side for its material availability, simple construction, and light filtering qualities. A high grade wire is to be specified for the maximum life span of the gabion cages (wire failure leads to premature gabion system failure). 1 2

Ove Arup, “The Design of Bridges. (1964)” The Arup Journal 2 (2009): 3-12. Martin Heidegger, “Building Dwelling Thinking” from Poetry, Language, Thought, trans. by Albert Hofstadter (New York: Harper Colophon Books, 1971).


Title A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge Chapter 146


Deck Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge Deck The experience of crossing the bridge is the starting point for the deck design. The bridge deck is an element that carries the pedestrian and cyclist traffic, it also has to effectively drain water and carry the snow loads common in Winnipeg winters. A bridge deck with a positive camber (parabolic arch) provides for a pleasant walking and biking experience crossing the river (max. gradient 6.6%), surrounded by the flat prairie landscape. Like the expansion and contraction of the chest while breathing, the rising and falling of the deck surface alters one’s perception of the horizon, which is especially apparent in the context of prairie landscape. As one travels from one side of the bridge to another, the experience of the rising of falling camber of the bridge deck also invites one to look closer - and suddenly realize the surrounding landscape is not at all flat; there are two distinct riverbanks carved by the meandering of the Red River. The rising and falling of the cambered bridge deck is one that relates to the microcosm of topographical features and the ephemeral nature of the site (peripheral consciousness). The deck provides an experience that is fluid and in flux, tied into the fluvial nature of the river beneath. A weathering steel (ASTM-A588) cantilever box girder system is chosen for the nature of its deck and structure integration. This lightweight, minimal and elegant structural profile has the ability to span over a long distance with two shorter independent spans, and the capacity for offsite fabrication for maximum quality assurance and minimizing the costs of construction over water. The current proposal is a 4-5m wide, 339m long bridge consisting four cantilevered sections (60m, 62.5m 62.5m, 47m ) and two approaching ramps (30m, 77m). Two sections of the opposing cantilevered arm sit on a single pier in the river resulting a balanced cantilevered system. The other two cantilevered sections are each supported by the abutment on each end of the bridge which also acts as the approaching ramp and counter weight for the cantilever arm. This combination of cantilevers results in two open spans, 120m and 60m across the river’s 180m wide channel. The positively cambered profile of the parabolic cantilevers result in an 11m structural clearance from normal summer water level in order to maintain a navigable waterway, while anticipating future flood and rising water levels due to climate change. The designed 160 year flood level is at Elevation 229.8m, 0.55m higher compared to the 1997 flood at 229.25m. The same benchmark is used for the design of Esplanade Riel in Downtown Winnipeg. This benchmark is marked by the bottom edge of the pier shelter panel.

147


Cantilever Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 148 Profile 1

Thin cantilever supporting self weight - No bending observed

Thin cantilever supporting self weight + one small weight - Severe bending observed - Top cord in tension - Bottom in cord compression

Rotated thin cantilever supporting self weight + one small weight - Medium bending observed + torsional bending


Cantilever Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 149 Profile 2

Profile 3

Thick cantilever supporting self weight - No bending observed

Bottom reinforced thick cantilever supporting self weight + two small weights - No bending observed - No bending observed

Thick cantilever supporting self weight + one small weight - Medium bending observed - Top cord in tension - Bottom in cord compression

Bottom reinforced thick cantilever supporting self weight + two small weights + one large weight - Minimal bending observed - No bending observed

Rotated thick cantilever supporting self weight + one small weight - No Bending observed

Rotated bottom reinforced thick cantilever supporting self weight + two small weights + one large weight - No bending observed - No bending observed


Title Deck Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 150

Shaping Bridge Deck Camber [cedar]


Deck Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 151

Bridge Deck with Railing Study [cedar, aluminum, light]


Title Railing Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 152

1:1 Railing Post [c-section steel, hss aluminium]


Railing Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 153

Railing The railing is the structural system that supports horizontal and vertical forces exerted from the users, it is also likely the first element of the bridge that the users will touch and feel. The railing should provide a sense of openness and also safety while crossing and lingering on the bridge 11m above the normal summer water level. Furthermore, a well-considered railing should be logically integrated to the bridge’s structure. The main railing system is a network of 1.2m weathering steel guardrail balustrades spaced at 2.5m intervals with a continuous wooden handrail at the height of 850mm. The railing system is prefabricated and shop-welded to the angled side flange of the box girder which follows the parabolic arch of the bridge deck, while providing some reinforcement to the structural shape of the parabolic cantilevers. The outwardly tilted guardrail provides a daring view to the water below, to compensate, the inwardly protruded handrail provides the feeling of safety, and invites people to lean against and linger. The balustrades are infilled with a structural stainless steel net to minimize visual impact while reducing overall weight. Lighting is to be integrated with the balustrades below the handrail mount to simply highlight the fluid form of the bridge at night. Solid 50mm weathering steel plates extending from the box girder at the abutments are used as guardrails for the bridge approach ramps and the intimate plaza on the main pier. This provides the closeness for intimate settings, contrasting the openness of the bridge deck. The plate guardrail also provides opportunity for way-finding signage, engraved maps and information for public engagement, while providing useful windbreak protection and also as a bird blind. The cut outs in the plate frames specific directions and views, as a corporeal way-finding strategy and further reinforces the sense of place.

Guardrail Studies - West Abutment UofM


Railing Fabrication A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 154

Cutting

Detail - Weld

Detail - Bolt

Detail - Model Support


Railing Fabrication A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 155

Drilling

Detail - Railing Base

Detail - Railing Base


Railing / Bridging A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 156

Railing / Bridging - Elevation Studies

Railing / Bridging - Shadow Study


Railing / Bridging A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 157

Railing / Bridging - Elevation Studies

Railing / Bridging - Shadow Study


Title Pier Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 158

Fabrication Drawings 1:100 bridge model supported on 1:1 railing posts


Title Pier A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 159

Pier The pier is skewed 60 degrees from the main bridge span as a result of the parallel orientation of the pier in relation to the flow of current as the river bends. The technical function of the bridge pier is to carry a largely vertical load, and in this case, some amount of the lateral thrust from the parabolic arch projection of the cantilever arms. The majority of this lateral thrust is resolved by the opposing cantilever acting on one another, reaching a state of equilibrium momentary, until a strong gust of wind from the South moves past, sending the cantilevered arms to readjust and regain balance, again be attuned to its environment. This self-balancing behaviour of a counter-balanced cantilever beam system results mainly downward compressive force that bears onto the pier. The reinforcedconcrete pier consists of three vertical slabs sandwiched together. The outer slabs are separated by 2m at the bearing location each taking equal forces from the skewed center-line of the box girder over equal and symmetrical bearing points. This is achieved by separating the two opposing arches apart 5m and extending the parabolic projection of the arch to meet the outer slabs of the pier. It is anticipated some lateral forces but mainly downward compression forces will be exerted on this pier, therefore a sandwiched slab binds the two outer slab together, creating a massive whole to carry the vertical load downward to the riverbed, while the pointed edge profile oriented parallel to the current increases ice breaking capacity and allows for optimal hydrodynamics, thus reducing long-term fatigue of the pier structure. The downstream side of the pier retains its primitive form resembling the binding of a book stack standing firmly in the flowing river, witnessing the passing of time. Sheet piles cofferdam are commonly used in building bridge piers under water. This technology involves driving interlocking steel sheet piles into the riverbed creating a watertight environment, the water within the cofferdam is then pumped out, leaving a “dry” working environment for pier foundation and pier formwork construction. As this is a disruptive and expensive activity to undertake, it is considered that a single well considered pier would suffice for the thesis discussion, both technically and theoretically. The pulling apart of the center section has created an intimate 5m x 10m pier plaza. The pier supports two intimate covered viewing balconies / bird blind, also providing shelter for the plaza. Thus the pier supports the bridge, while also supporting life on the bridge. What he can then see in a flash will need a lot of explanations and 3-D sketches or models to put across to a reader. I am afraid, therefore, that this statu nascendi business will have to be dropped, at least if taken too literally. But I still think that the main idea has validity, and that designers could make a contribution to informed criticism if they could bring themselves to give an account of the path followed – including some of the blind alleys – to reach a particular solution. This then, is what I am going to attempt, but I am immediately up against two difficulties. One is lack of time and space which will make my effort very sketchy in any case. The other, more serious, is, that in the nature of things I can only talk about my own experiences. What we really want is an eye-witness account of how great architecture is produced, and unfortunately I am far from being a great architect. My only hope is that my example will inspire someone better qualified to make a more valuable contribution on these lines.

Considering the method of construction, however, it was very soon found that to provide a temporary staging for the whole bridge would be far too expensive. The best method seemed to be to drive piles from a floating plant for the construction of the piers and then cantilever both ways from these piers, delivering all the materials or precast units to these piers by barge (Fig 1). This would not be easy, considering the depth of water and the skewness of the pier; at the least it would require very heavy and expensive piers. It would obviously facilitate matters enormously if each of the two piers was replaced by two narrow piers relatively close together (Fig 2). These two twin piers would then form natural harbours for supplies by barge and would, when connected, form a stable base from which to cantilever in both directions. Further, it would then be possible to arrange floating spans connecting the bridge with the shore, thus diminishing the height of construction over land, and solving the problem of temperature changes. However, there was still the skewness to consider. The narrow piers would have to follow the direction of the current, forming an angle of 60˚ with the centreline of the bridge (Fig 3). If we, in order to preserve the symmetry and the logic of the system, were to cut the floating spans on the skew as well (Fig 4), all sorts of problems would arise. The system would work if the bridge consisted of parallel strips, but that would be wildly uneconomic because each

Prefabricated board form panels will be used to form the concrete pier. The horizontal lines left by the formwork accentuate the patination on the pier over time from the cyclical process of the fluvial landscape. Recessed shadow lines at 1m intervals mark the water level relative to the historical 1997 flood level (229.25m) and 160 year flood level, so we can gauge with our naked eyes how the water level fluctuates, and relate that back to a memory that Winnipeggers share, and anticipate the power of nature to come. Perth Narrows Bridge

The first design, for a bridge over the Narrows at Perth, Australia, never got further than an early sketch stage, but the fundamental decisions about how to build the bridge had been taken and, as will be seen, these decisions, logically applied, resulted in a bridge of a somewhat unusual form. The task, as presented to us by the clients at the time, was to build a low road bridge 92ft wide and 1300ft long – of which 900ft were over water – between the mainland and a large island. The special feature of this bridge was its skewness – the line of the bridge formed an angle of 60˚ with the channel it had to span, and consequently with the current. The clients at one time expressed the hope of spanning the bridge in one span, but that could only be done by having the main structure above road level – suspension bridge – and that was not considered desirable for other reasons – landscape. The best that could be hoped for with the construction height available was three spans: a long middle span with two cantilevers and a floating span, and two shore spans.

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strip would then have to support the maximum point load on its own. Tying the strips together to form a

Design diagrams of the skewed piers of Perth Narrows Bridge, Ove Arup monolithic structure would, however, cause havoc with5-6.] the orderly distribution of moments, certain [Source: Arup, Ove. “The Design of Bridges. (1964)” The Arup Journal 2 (2009): The Arup Journal 2/2009

5

points would be overstressed in relation to others, in other words, shape would not any more correspond to the forces acting on the bridge. To overcome this, it was proposed to cut the floating spans at right angles to the bridge along the lines A - B (Fig 5).

It will be seen that the elevation is not symmetrical about the centre of the bridge but follows a rhythmic but syncopated movement from left to right of deep dip, low dip, deep dip, low dip. Seen from the other side, the movement is again the same from left to right, not from right to left, as one would expect. A perspective is shown in Fig 8. This is as far as we got. There were of course hundreds of questions left to consider – whether to construct the bridge in situ as a hollow box section or a ribbed construction, of precast and prestressed units – probable – and the size and shape of units, the treatment of the joint between bridge and pier, cantilevered footpaths, if any, railings, lighting, etc,


Pier and Parabolic Box Girder System Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 160

60m

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MAX. SLOPE 6.6% AT BASE

PARABOLIC VERTEX - 400m PARABOLIC VERTEX - 200m

Model Study - Bridge Deck and Pier Connection

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3m ATSM A588 WEATHERING STEEL BOX GIRDER (4” PLATE - 5M SECTIONS SHOP WELDED)


Pier / Construction Sequence A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 161

Weathering steel sheet pile is a common method for cofferdam construction. The use of weathering steel for the cantilever girders recalls this temporary secondary “formwork� of the bridge pier construction. [Photo Source: Shutterstock]

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Construction Sequence 1. Steel sheet pile cofferdam is driven into the riverbed 2. Water is pumped out of cofferdam creating a dry condition for concrete pile foundation 3. Concrete pier is constructed with 1m hight sections of pre-fabricated board forms 5.

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4. Neoprene bearing pads are installed 5. Sheet pile is removed 6. Pre-fabricated ASTM A588 weathering steel bridge cantilevered bridge girder arms with railing posts are lifted in place with a barge staging 7. Pier deck supporting structure (H.S.S.) is installed

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8. Finished deck is installed - cedar (typ.), weathering steel (pier plaza), and grating (pier deck) 9. Pre-fabricated ASTM A588 weathering steel shelter is lifted in place and welded to deck supporting structure 10. Pre-fabricated benches are welded to bridge girder; steel lighting posts are lifted in place and bolted to the pier; Stainless steel nets are installed between railing posts

Model Study - Bridge Pier


Title Chapter 162


Title Chapter 163

1:100 Model Bridge Pier and Plaza [Photo by Ted Landrum]


Title West Abutment - Plan UofM Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge

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10. 1. Brick paved plaza at Elev. 233.00m 2. Concrete abutment / approach ramp slope at max 4.9% 3. Concrete landing w/ weathering steel deck with non-slip synthetic coating at Elev. 233.50m 4. Weathering steel cantilever bridge span w/ base slope at max. 6.6% 5. Rock-filled gabion retaining wall 6. Pavilion canopy / sunshade - steel columns w/ wood slats 7. Stair access to river bank and pavilion - cedar blockings and native soil 8. Feature lighting / way finding 9. Timber bench 10. River pavilion platform - steel structural frame w/ ceder deck

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UofM West Abutment - AxoTitle SE A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 165

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UofM West Abutment - Model Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 166

Top view of bridge abutment approach ramp and lower level pavilion platform

1:100 Model Studies - UofM West Abutment

Perspective view of bridge approach ramp and access to lower level platform and river bank


UofM West Abutment - Model Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 167

Perspective view of lower level platform, gabion retaining wall, bridge abutment

Perspective view of bridge abutment, cantilever connection, railing transition from solid to open


Bridge Deck and Pier A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 168

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Plan - Cantilever Spans and Pier

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5m

Elevation - Cantilever Spans and Pier

1:100 Model Studies - Bridge Deck and Pier Plaza The width of the bridge deck begins from 4m at the top of the cantilever and widens to 5m at the base of the cantilever box girder beam, where it bears on the skewed concrete pier.

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Bridge Deck and Pier A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 169

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Patination of weathering steel ASTM-A588 over time [Source: Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal]

Gabion retaining wall detail [Source: Maccaferri]

Boardform concrete detail Stainless steel mesh detail [Source: Jakob Rope Systems]

TOP OF LIGHTING FIXTURE ELEV 242.000+-

DECK AT FREE-SPAN ELEV 235.750+-

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DECK AT PIER ELEV 233.500+WEST ABUTMENT GRADE (UofM) ELEV 233.000+EAST ABUTMENT GRADE (ST. VITAL) ELEV 230.800+-

160 YR FLOOD ELEV 229.800+-

NORMAL SUMMER WATER LEVEL ELEV 223.750+WINTER ICE LEVEL ELEV 221.890+-

RIVERBED ELEV 218.000+-

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section - aa

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section - bb

section - cc


Title Bridge Deck and Pier - Plan Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 170

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1. Wooden deck with quartz sand surface - base slope at max. 6.6%, varying width 4-5m 2. Weathering steel deck with non-slip synthetic coating at Elev. 233.50m - sectional extrusion profile 3. Closed aluminium grating for wind protection on H.S.S. steel support frame 4. Open aluminium grating on H.S.S. steel support frame 5. Prefabricated 50mm weathering steel shelter panels on H.S.S. steel support frame 6. Concrete pier 7. Aluminium light fixture 8. Wooden bench supported on cantilever bridge deck tensioning steel structure w/ integrated lighting 9. Weathering steel railing post at 2.5m o.c. w/ stainless steel structural net infill panels. Guardrail height at 1.2m w/ wooden handrail at 850mm

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Bridge Deck and Title Pier A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 171


Title Chapter 172

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Cliff Edge / River Bottom Forest

Trail to Henteleff Park

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9. Trail to Norman Park

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12. Pristine Tall Grass Prairie

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10. 1. Stone paved pathway 2. Stone paved plaza 3. Concrete abutment / approach ramp slope at max 4.9% 4. Wooden deck with quartz sand surface - base slope at max. 6.6%, varying width 4-5m 5. Rock-filled gabion retaining wall 6. Public washroom - rock-filled gabion wall 7. Water feature - shower at varying height 8. Water feature - drinking fountains / water basin 9. Landscape mound - finish varies - rubber mulch, sand, stone, brick, native plants 10. Park pavilion canopy / sunshade - steel columns w/ wood slats 11. Elevated park pavilion platform - steel structural frame w/ ceder deck 12. Feature lighting / way finding 13. Lookout platform - open aluminium grating on H.S.S. steel support frame 14. New landscaped paths tied into existing trail network - dashed lines 15. Bike rack and repair station 16. Dichroic glass pavilion - Little Free Library / multi-use 17. Wooden bench on integrated cantilever steel base 18. Wooden bench supported on cantilever bridge deck tensioning steel structure w/ integrated lighting 19. Bridge Pier / Pier Plaza

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Proposed Parking Area

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Norman Park Neighbourhood


Henteleff Park East Abutment - Title Plan A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 173


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Henteleff Park East Abutment - AxoTitle SE A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 175

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1. Stone paved plaza 2. Concrete abutment / approach ramp slope at max 4.9% 3. Wooden deck with quartz sand surface - base slope at max. 6.6%, varying width 4-5m 4. Rock-filled gabion retaining wall 5. Public washroom - rock-filled gabion wall 6. Open aluminium grating on H.S.S. steel support frame 7. 50mm weathering steel panel 8. Water feature - shower at varying height 9. Water feature - drinking fountains / water basin 10. Park pavilion canopy / sunshade - steel columns w/ wood slats 11. Elevated park pavilion platform - steel structural frame w/ ceder deck 12. Feature lighting / way finding 13. Landscape mound - finish varies - rubber mulch, sand, stone, brick, native plants 14. New landscaped path tied into existing trail network 15. Bike rack and repair station 16. Dichroic glass pavilion - Little Free Library / multi-use 17. Weathering steel railing post at 2.5m o.c. w/ stainless steel structural net infill panels. Guardrail height at 1.2m w/ wooden handrail at 850mm 18. 50mm weathering steel plate guardrail 19. Wooden bench on integrated cantilever steel base


Henteleff Park East Abutment - Model Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 176

Site - Henteleff Park East Abutment Location

1:500 Model Study - Henteleff Park East Abutment - Cantilever Span and Counterweight [wood, map pins, clay] Left: South Elevation Right: West Elevation


Henteleff Park East Abutment - Model Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 177

Site - Henteleff Park East Abutment Location - Boundary between Henteleff Park and a field of tall grass prairie, leading residential neighbourhood

1:500 Model Study - Henteleff Park Pavilion [wood, map pins, clay]


Henteleff Park East Abutment - Model Studies Title Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 178

1:500 Model Study - Plan and Elevation Cantilever Bridge Span, East Abutment and Ramp, Henteleff Park Pavilion, Landscape Mound, Pathway to Norman Park Neighbourhood [wood, map pins, clay]


Title Chapter 179


Bridge E-S Sections Title Chapter A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 180

section - aa 10m

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section - bb

Norman Park Neighbourhood

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50m

Henteleff Park

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dd


Bridge E-S Sections Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 181

10m

30m

50m

100m

section - cc 10m

30m

50m

100m

10m

30m

50m

100m

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30m section - 50m dd

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Red River cc

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University of Manitoba

Pembina Hall Residence


Bridging - Site Section / Axo A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 182

University Campus

Central Energy Plant

West Abutment UofM

Pembina Hall Residence

Pier Red River

University of Manitoba


Bridging - Site Section / Axo A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 183

East Abutment Henteleff Park

Red River

Pathway Henteleff Park

Norman Park Neighbourhood

Henteleff Park


Bridging - Framing A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 184

Perspective view looking West towards pier plaza and UofM

Perspective view at pier plaza - bird blind / wind shelter framing smoke stacks beyond


Bridging - Image of a House A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 185

Perspective view at pier plaza - framing Henteleff Park

Perspective view from Henteleff Park - jogging trail - view of bridge pier shelter against the backdrop of UofM greenhouse

Context - Image of a House Top: Greenhouse at UofM Middle: Pembina Hall Residence at UofM Bottom: Houses in St. Vital seen from Henteleff Park


A Meeting Place A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 186

Pier - A meeting place of the fourfold: earth and sky, divinities and mortals


Bridge Section Through Pier Plaza Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 187


Title Chapter 188


Bridge Section Through Pier Plaza Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 189


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Bridge Section Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 191

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Title Chapter 192

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Bridge Section Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 193

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Title Chapter 194

“ The bridge gathers to itself in its own way earth and sky, divinities and mortals.� - Martin Heidegger, Building Dwelling Thinking


Bridge Section Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 195


Title Chapter 196

A building that breathes, going and coming to and from opposite sides Somewhere in the middle there is a place for balance A landing, a bank, an edge, an island, a bridge, a different landing A building thus consolidates and reconciles the opposites to provide a place somewhere between the opposites So to accommodate the coming and going to and from


Bridge Section Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 197


Title Chapter 198

How slow? Is too slow? Slow to approach Slow to land Slow because of snow Conditions Patterns Accumulation Slow walking Slow doing Slow acting Slow breathing Slow working


Bridge Section Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 199


Title Chapter 200


Bridging in Place - Model Studies A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 201

Pier - A meeting place of earth and sky, divinities and mortals

Left and Above: Bridge deck looking East towards Henteleff Park


Title Chapter 202


Bridging in Place - Deck A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 203

Left and Above: Bridge deck looking West towards University of Manitoba


Title Chapter 204


Bridging in Place - Pier Plaza A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 205

Left and Above: Pier and Pier Plaza, Shelter and Bird Blind


Title Chapter 206


Bridging in Place - Deck and Railing A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 207

Left and Above: Cantilever camber deck and railing details


Title Chapter 208


Bridging in Place - Main Span and Pier A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 209

Left and Above: 1:100 model of balance cantilever spans supported on main pier


Title Chapter 210


Bridging in Place Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 211


Title Chapter 212


Final Exhibition A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 213

Detail of through-truss covered bridges


Title Chapter 214


Final Exhibition Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 215


Title Chapter 216


Final Exhibition Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 217


Title Chapter 218


Final Exhibition A Pedestrian / Cyclist Bridge 219

Detail of bridge pier

Detail of pier plaza / shelter / bird blind

Detail of bridge deck and railing


Title Chapter 220


Final Exhibition Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 221


Title Chapter 222


Final Exhibition Title A Pedestrian / CyclistChapter Bridge 223


A Building that Breathes Bridging 224

“ One must learn to love.— This is what happens to us in music: first one has to learn to hear a figure and melody at all, to detect and distinguish it, to isolate it and delimit it as a separate life; then it requires some exertion and good will to tolerate it in spite of its strangeness, to be patient with its appearance and expression, and kindhearted about its oddity:—finally there comes a moment when we are used to it, when we wait for it, when we sense that we should miss it if it were missing: and now it continues to compel and enchant us relentlessly until we have become its humble and enraptured lovers who desire nothing better from the world than it and only it.— But that is what happens to us not only in music: that is how we have learned to love all things that we now love. In the end we are always rewarded for our good will, our patience, fairmindedness, and gentleness with what is strange; gradually, it sheds its veil and turns out to be a new and indescribable beauty:—that is its thanks for our hospitality. Even those who love themselves will have learned it in this way: for there is no other way. Love, too, has to be learned.” [Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, trans. Walter Kaufmann. (New York: Vintage,1974).]


Conclusions 225

Like breathing, bridging is a continuous activity that binds together life, a symbiotic relationship with the world, an exchange: coming and going, in and out. Bridging is a philosophical practice. The teachings of the masters: Buddha, Lao Zi, Heraclitus, Lucretius, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty, Borges, Pallasmaa, Zumthor, Leatherbarrow, PĂŠrez-GĂłmez, are the underlining thread that stitches together this thesis inquiry, providing grounds for this thesis to manifest, while at the same time laying the foundation for future architectural inquiries and most importantly, a way of life. Perhaps the most valuable connection of this thesis is bridging a thought process of how individuals, groups, societies and nations can co-operate with the world we are part of. This idea embraces phenomena, materials, matters, voids, and consciousness, for the world as one. The operation of fluvial and alluvial processes created stable and unstable grounds upon which a bridge can be built, in co-operating with the world, the bridge must tread lightly over water.


Title Chapter 226


Title References Chapter 227

Arup, Ove. “The Design of Bridges. (1964)” The Arup Journal 2 (2009): 3-12. Allen, Laura, Mark Smout. Pamphlet Architecture 28: Augmented Landscapes. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2013. Baus, Ursula, Mike Schlaich. Footbridges: Structure Design History. Basel: Birkhauser, 2008 Borges, Jorge L. This Craft of verse. Cambridge Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2000. Brodsky, Alexander, Ilya Utkin. Brodsky & Utkin. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2015. Cook, Peter. Drawing The Motive Force of Architecture. London: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Havik, Klaske, Gus Tielens, Hans Teerds. OASE #91, Building Atmosphere (December 2013). Rotterdam: nai010 publishers Heidegger, Martin. Martin Heidegger Basic Writings. New York: Harper Collins. 1993 Hochberg, Anette, Jan-Henrik Hafke, Joachim Raab. Open I Close (Scale) Windows, Doors, Gates, Loggias, Filters. Basel: Birkauser, 2009. Holl, Steven, Alberto Pérez-Gómez, Juhanni Pallasmaa. Questions of Perception: Phenomenology of Architecture. San Francisco: William Stout Publishers, 2006. Keil, Andreas. Detail Practice: Pedestrian Bridges - Ramps Walkways Structures. Munich: Architecktur-Dokumentation GmbH & Co. 2013. Klein, Yves, Peter Noever. Yves Klein: Air Architecture. Berlin: Hatje Cantz Pubisher, 2004. Kuma, Kengo. Anti-Object: The Dissolution and Disintegration of Architecture. London, UK: AA Publications, 2008. Lao Zi. Tao Te Ching, Passage 8. Translated by Stephen Mitchell. London: Frances Lincoln Publishers,1999. Leatherbarrow, David. Architecture Oriented Otherwise. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2014. Leatherbarrow, David. Topographical Stories: Studies in Landscape and Architecture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004. Lucretius. On the Nature of Things. Trans. by W. H. D. Rouse. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1924 Matta-Clark, Gordon, James Attlee, Lisa Le Feuvre. Gordon Matta-Clark: The Space Between. UK: Nazraeli Press, 2003. McLeod, Virginia. Details in Contemporary Landscape Architecture. UK: Laurence King Publishing, 2008. Nieuwenhuys, Constant. “New Babylon.” Text for the Exhibition Catalogue (The Hauge 1974). Accessed November 20, 2017. http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic709752.files/WEEK%207/CNieuwenhuis_New%20Babylon.pdf Pallasmaa, Juhanni. The Embodied Image: Imagination and Imagery in Architecture. London: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Pérez-Gómez, Alberto. Attunement Architectural Meaning After the Crisis of Modern Science. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2016. Robinson, Sarah. Mind in Architecture: Neuroscience, Embodiment, and the Future of Design. Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2015. Rée, Jonathan. Heidegger: History and Truth in Being and Time. London: Phoenix, 1988. University of Manitoba. Visionary (re)Generation Master Plan. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, 2016 Zumthor, Peter. Thinking Architecture. Basel: Birkauser, 2006.


Title Chapter 228

Red River Breathing December 10th, 2016 @ 8:30am


A Building that Breathes Title Bridging the Everyday Life of Nature and HumanChapter Nature 229


Title Chapter 230


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