New Great Wall Bridge To Be Built:
SPARC has collaborated with wHY Architects to design a “Green Bridge” which will be solar lit and composed in part from the debris of the Los Angeles River with interpretive panels along the expanse of the Bridge from which the public can view the River and the ½ mile of mural along its banks.
The new Valley College Bridge will replace and existing bridge crossing the Tujunga Wash Flood control Channel. The old pedestrian bridge will be replaced between Miranda Street and Hatteras Street on the west side of the Coldwater Canyon Blvd. The new bridge will function, not only as a point to cross the Tujunga wash but also as a viewing station and interpretive center to view the Great Wall of Los Angeles mural and the Los Angeles River.
The structure of the bridge will consist of prefabricated built-up plate steel girders, steel framing and new poured concrete footings. The finish material will consists of prefabricated textured fiberglass concrete panels on the sides of the footbridge and canopy, and composite plastic impregnated wood decking on walk able surfaces. End panels shall be troweled stone face plaster over steel framing with guardrails constructed of powder-coated steel for durability.
The look will be one of layered sediment with broken glass, and other plastic debris common to the river which will create the look of layers of sedimentation.
The roof of the canopy shall consist of aluminum framed, clear glass panels with thin film photovoltaic strips. Photovoltaic cells will collect solar energy and distribute back to the department of water and power, monitored by PV meters. On the underside of the canopy will be a clear skylight finished with two layers of laminated polycarbonate panels with images of the River and the Great Wall silk screened on film and sandwiched between them. Light will filter through this skylight during the day illuminating the images.
The total impact of the bridge will be that it will be an instructional site about the river and the history of the diverse people of Los Angeles while it reconnects the two sides of the channel. |
