BRIDGING FLOWS
A street-scape transformation by way of a glowing node canopy that flexes and bends to follow pedestrians underneath.
North Los Angeles Street Bridge: Air Flow
The North Los Angeles Street Bridge responds to weather flows and air quality. At each end of the bridge is a set of twin pylons, designed to transfer the loads away from the center of the bridge. Between the pylons an array of translucent nodes stretches above (and out of reach of) the pedestrians, forming shade in the day time and gently signaling changes in weather and air quality at night through migrating tones of lighting. The pylons may have a capacity to very slowly raise and lower the array, forming a gently undulating lit skin above the pedestrians on the bridge. The possibility of wind generation on the pylons is also being considered; a main focus of ours is to consider resource conservation wherever possible. Sound dampening of the freeway noise below could be achieved by weaving recycled material into the existing fence. The "cloud" will also not be positioned on the edge of the bridge but rather above the pedestrian walk-way and thus will be less directly visible from passing cars on the freeway below. As for preserving the vistas to El Pueblo, the canopy is not continuous, it s permeable like a flock of birds – one can see through and beyond it. The cloud will form a minimal interruption of the view of the buildings and yet become a beautiful and inviting portal between the future downtown Los Angeles and its historic core.
North Main Street Bridge : Pedestrian Flow
The North Main Street bridge is about pedestrian flows, especially the pedestrian experience as one moves across the bridge. As there are fewer weight restrictions on this bridge, it may be equipped with a slightly raised pedestrian walkway across the bridge, that when walked across compresses under-foot. This small movement is amplified along an undulating array of translucent forms mounted along a series of vertical posts. The repeated forms are similar in material, proportion and spacing to the shapes that form the "cloud" canopy on the other bridge. The pedestrian will get a sensation of playful empowerment as s/he sees how his or her walk is translated into a wave along the tree-like canopy. By day, shadows play along the sidewalk and at night the overhead trellis gently undulates with lights. We are examining noise abatement methods for this bridge as well, so as to make the pedestrian experience as pleasant as possible. We have taken into account preserving the vistas to El Pueblo, as well as keeping the visual movement of the art work harmonious and flowing to minimize distraction of motorists. On both bridges, a wall of native ivy will transform the existing chain link fence into a green respite from the glare and dust of this freeway zone. Planters identical to those along Arcadia would anchor the ivy and would tie in the ends and centers of the bridges with the surrounding El Pueblo landscaping, achieving a gradual transition for the pedestrian experience. ADA compliance will be maintained by providing a minimum five foot wide regular walkway on the bridge.
Project in process.
BridgingFlows
The challenge of working on a public art proposal for the bridges of N. Main St and N. Los Angeles St, while being an exciting prospect also presents a formidable challenge in so far as there are a multitude of technical factors on the one hand as well as socio-cultural factors on the other. Another challenge of the site is its location that marks a transitional space between areas and influences. Rather than get drawn into trying to side with one factor over another, or one cultural aspect over another, we are drawn to embracing the space as a transitional zone: a place between places that is characterized by flow.
We see the bridges as marking three main types of flow, both literally and metaphorically : the flows of people, automobiles and weather.
The flow of people:
Even though the Pueblo of Los Angeles was first officially founded in 1781, this area has been at the confluence of many peoples over the millennia. As we look around us today and see over 140 different nationalities represented in our communities, our past reveals that the vicinity was inhabited by the Chumash and the Tongva and was later settled by the Spanish and the Mexicans. As early as 1836 the nationalities of local residents included American, English, Portuguese, African, Canadian, Irish, Italian, German, Scot, Norwegian, and Curacao. In 1852 the first Chinese arrived and began to form Chinatown and other areas of Los Angeles began to take their shape. In the 20th Century, what we know as downtown began to transform itself into a modern metropolis, contrasting with the smaller scale communities of El Pueblo and Chinatown. From the beginning, Los Angeles has been a place of diverse human flow, quickly forming one of the largest population centers on the planet. These bridges seem to form an axis across which the origins of the Los Angeles communities link to the future leaning inhabitants of skyscrapers and vast glass and steel complexes.
The flow of traffic:
US Route 101 was formed in 1926 and is one of the last remaining and longest "U.S. Routes" still active in the United States. The route originally linked the U.S.- Mexico border and still reaches the Oregon border in the North. The 101 makes up part of the LA freeway system that hosts a daily migration of 300 million miles and is used by 12 million cars each day. Although not the primary focus of the public art project, it is clear that these bridges witness an immense flow of vehicular activity.
Other transportation systems that link and access the surrounding areas are the MTA, Metrolink and Union Station, all of which are bicycle accessible and only reinforce this area as a hub of the Los Angeles commute.
The Climate Flow:
Los Angeles is constantly exposed to the ebb and flow of the weather in the form of the "drainage winds" of the Santa Anas, inversion phenomena, the marine layer and the winter storms that bring with them flood watches. Temperatures vary from between 28 degrees in winter to as much as 110 in September. Humidity oscillates to a large extent depending on the ebb and flow of the marine layer. Added to this are the variables that the weather brings with them, in the form of photochemical Smog which is gauged by the Air Quality Index's six color coded categories.
In short, our public art project aims to work with this linkage between peoples, between zones of the city and between weather flows. The art work becomes a membrane that connects and signals the dynamic movement of our city by connecting personal experience to larger patterns of movement and transformation.
We have decided to approach the two bridges from different angles, in part because each bridge has a completely different load tolerance, and yet we have striven to maintain a conceptual union between the two.
N. Main St Bridge: Weather Flow
The N. Main St. bridge is designed to signal weather flows and air quality. At each end of the bridge is a set of twin pylons, designed to transfer the loads away from the center of the bridge. Between the pylons an array of translucent nodes is stretched above (and out of reach of) the pedestrians, forming shade in the day time and gently signaling changes in weather and air quality at night through migrating tones of lighting. The pylons may have a capacity to very slowly raise and lower the array, forming a gently undulating lit skin above the pedestrians on the bridge. The possibility of wind generation on the pylons is also being considered, as a main focus of ours is to consider environmental conservation wherever possible. Some sound dampening approaches are being examined by weaving material into the existing fence, adding elements to the fence or by making some kind of thin gabion structure next to the fence. Even though the air "cloud" moves and lights up, we believe this will not cause a great deal of gawking as the effect will be closer to the LAX lighting array as opposed to the strident and in-your-face light display on the 110 Fwy by the Staples Center, or the one by USC. The "cloud" will also not be positioned on the edge of the bridge but rather above the pedestrian walk-way and thus will be less directly visible from passing cars on the freeway below. As for preserving the vistas to El Pueblo, we believe that the cloud will form a minimal interruption of the view of the buildings, and yet become a beautiful and inviting portal between the New and Old worlds.
N. Los Angeles Bridge: Pedestrian Flow
The N. Los Angeles St. bridge is about pedestrian flows, and specifically about the pedestrian experience as one moves across the bridge. As there are fewer weight restrictions on this bridge, it seems feasible to build a slightly raised pedestrian walkway across the bridge, that when walked across dips under-foot very slightly. This small movement translates into an undulating array of vertical posts that are mounted with translucent nodes, similar in proportion and spacing to the "cloud" bridge. The feeling is one of playful empowerment as the pedestrian sees how his or her walk is translated into a wave of moving tree-like posts. By day, shadows play along the sidewalk and at night these are replaced by gently undulating lights.
Similar noise attenuation approaches are being examined for this bridge as well, so as to make the pedestrian experience as pleasant as possible. We have also taken into account preserving the vistas to El Pueblo, as well as keeping the visual movement of the art work harmonious and slowly flowing to minimize freeway traffic gawking. The sound attenuation will also diminish drivers' views of the art work. Placement of planters has been considered to tie in the end of the bridge to surrounding el Pueblo landscaping. ADA compliance is achieved by maintaining a minimum 5' wide regular walkway on the bridge.
Project by Ned Kahn, Jenna Didier and Oliver Hess with Creative Collaboration of Marcos Lutyens
