West End Pedestrian Bridge Competition | Enrique Greenwell

The West End Pedestrian Bridge addition is a celebration for the city of Pittsburgh, providing a destination and a connection, framing and enhancing exhilarating views of the hills, river and skyline, promoting human interaction and paying tribute to the long-standing symbols of the city. The project celebrates the long history of bridges along the river front with integrity and respect for the existing West End Bridge, taking on a function of connecting neighboring communities and building on a distinguished history that these marvels of engineering have enjoyed as unique landmarks. The project honors its connection with the original bridge with a design that pays homage by sharing structural roles, yet expanding its gracefulness by cantilevering out in a daring way, establishing the differences in structural technologies that span 80 years. This ambivalence, while drastically opposed is able to fulfill the supported role of connecting neighboring communities. The design strikes a difference between old and new but it embraces the clean and elegant lines of its predecessor, creating a visually exciting yet simple approach, its lines departing from the symmetrical approach and solidity of yesterday and into the daring off-centered lines that provide ever-changing views to be experienced from different perspectives.