December 2, 2009

British Columbia, Alberta firms shortlisted for Calgary bridge design

RICHARD GILBERT

staff writer

Engineers from Alberta and British Columbia have made the short list for the top design concepts that will be used to build a second pedestrian bridge over the Bow River in Calgary.

The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) and its 10 member advisory committee selected three design submissions that will move forward to the next stage of the competition for the new St. Patrick’s Island pedestrian bridge in East Village.

“It was a tough decision because each submission was compelling in its own way,” said Chris Ollenberger, CMLC president and CEO.

“The three finalists were chosen because they’re respectful, elegant and functional, and offer different attributes for consideration,” he said.

The finalists are:

• Buckland and Taylor Ltd. (Vancouver) and Kitchell – Architecture + Design (Victoria, BC);

• ARUP with Falco Schmitt Architects (London, UK); and,

• RFR (Paris, France) and Halsall (Calgary).

The finalists were chosen from a group of 33 submissions that were received from around the world.

The entries included a wide variety of ideas and concepts.

“The advisory committee agreed that the bridge should be simple and elegant, and that the scale of the structure, in relation to the site and its surroundings, be complimentary and not be overwhelming,” said Ollenberger.

“Public commentary also supported this direction and we believe that we have three strong, feasible concepts to move forward with.”

The advisory committee is comprised of community residents from East Village, Inglewood and Bridgeland, Calgary business leaders, architects, engineers and CMLC management.

Stantec Consulting Ltd. produced a technical overview for all 33 submissions, in order to compare every concept against the criteria described in the Request for Submission document released in mid August.

The bridge will link St. Patrick’s Island with East Village to the south and the Bow River pathway system to the north.

It will provide improved linkages for cyclists and pedestrians to nearby communities including East Village, Inglewood and Bridgeland.

A different approach was used on the proposed $22-million Peace Bridge, which was awarded to Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. This time, a design contest was held for this new bridge.

The St. Patrick’s bridge, like the Peace Bridge, is expected to cost about $25 million.

However, the city must make minor design changes to the Peace Bridge to lower the cost of construction tender bids.

The three finalists will be paid $50,000 each to offer more detailed designs before a committee will pick a winner early next year.

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