CALGARY – The winner in the competition to design Calgary’s new St. Patrick’s bridge has been annouced: the team of RFR of Paris, France, and Halsall Associates Limited of Calgary.
The new bridge will be a lower profile, arched structure that respects the location and aesthetics of St. Patrick’s Island and the Bow River, the Calgary Municipal Land Corporation said today in making the announcement.
CMLC considered the opinions of Calgarians expressed through more than 2,000 comments on the CMLC website and at public presentations last month, as well as the advice of its advisory committee and technical experts, to select the RFR Halsall team.
“The (CMLC) board of directors was very impressed with the sensibility, aesthetics and thematic approach taken by RFR/Halsall, but recognized that any one of the three final designs would have been a wonderful addition to Calgary,” said Chris Ollenberger, president and CEO of CMLC.
“We’re elated,” said John Ford, an engineer with Halsall Associates Limited in Calgary.
“We’re very excited to be part of East Village. We tried to capture what the community wanted and to reflect the unique characteristics of this location."
Ollenberger said the bridge’s continuous arches, emulating a stone skipping across the Bow River, resonated with Calgarians. He noted that others saw rolling foothills or the Chinook arch in the profile of the RFR/Halsall bridge design.
The bridge will replace the existing one, which only partially crosses the river near the west end of St. Patrick’s Island, and will link the island with East Village to the south, and Bridgeland to the north.
 With the winning concept now chosen, detailed design work will begin as well as public consultation on the rejuvenation of St. Patrick’s Island.Â
CMLC is working towards developing the East Village into a more vibrant community integrated into the downtown core.
More details about the winning bridge design and other East Village redevelopment projects can be seen at http://www.calgarymlc.ca.
Comments