The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) unveiled the winner of its St. Patrick's Bridge Conceptual Design Competition today. And the winner is...
RFR (Paris, France) and Halsall Associates Limited (Calgary) for their arched structure - formerly known as submission #29. The three-span arch concept with an estimated $25 million price tag was selected over 32 other finalists as part of a revitalization effort of the East Village. In making the decision, the CMLC "considered the opinions of Calgarians expressed through more than two thousand comments on the CMLC website." They also held a public presentation last month with the short-listed final three contestants and "listened to the advice of its Advisory Committee and technical experts.
The pedestrian/bicycle bridge will connect St. Patrick's Island with the East Village and Bridgeland and will be constructed in 2011. Chris Ollenberger, President and CEO of CMLC said the "bridge’s continuous arches emulating a stone skipping across the Bow River resonated with Calgarians." The City of Calgary made a deliberate effort to include local residents in the design selection process largely due to the massive blowback it received last year for selecting a Spanish design for the pedestrian Peace Bridge (which will connect Eau Claire to Sunnyside) over local submissions.
Read Bridges Over Troubled Waters- a look at these controversial projects from our archives.
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