Montreal-based MAADI Group recently designed a 151-foot-long, 6½-foot-wide pedestrian work bridge to connect platforms in the West Philippine Sea. Using high-strength aluminum for the bridge’s material, MAADI designed the bridge with lateral movement capability that could withstand deep-ocean movement and wind gusts up to 200 km/hr (124 mph).
MAADI’s President/CEO, Alexandre de la Chevrotière, says that water and wind movements can cause the platforms to shift by as much as one inch, so the bridge was engineered to account for movement up to one meter. A trolley system at one end of the bridge allows slight back-and-forth movements of the bridge between the platforms.
The span was built in four sections. Its abutments are unique, according to de la Chevrotière, in that their pin connections rotate on two axes. There’s also a pin connection at the top of the trolley, which allows the bridge to move in several different directions by as much as three degrees to account for ocean movements, he says.
The 13-ton bridge was built to accommodate up to 80 workers on deck. (The accompanying image shows 8.4 tons of water being used to test the span’s load capacity.) The bridge’s camber was designed to reduce the deflection caused by dead and live loads.
“Aluminum is the material of the future,” says de la Chevrotière. “It doesn’t rust and it’s maintenance free.”
Read about more innovations from BD+C's 2014 Great Solutions Report.
Related Stories
| Aug 18, 2022
The Illinois Institute of Technology restores three Mies van der Rohe buildings
With Dirk Denison Architects and Gilbane Building Company, the Illinois Institute of Technology has recently completed a $70 million housing project that has restored three Ludwig Mies van der Rohe buildings.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 17, 2022
California strip mall goes multifamily residential
Tiny Tim Plaza started out as a gas station and a dozen or so stores. Now it’s a thriving mixed-use community, minus the gas station.
| Aug 17, 2022
Focusing on building envelope design and commissioning
Building envelope design is constantly evolving as new products and assemblies are developed.
| Aug 17, 2022
New York to deploy 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments
New York officials recently announced the state and the city will invest $70 million to roll out 30,000 window-sized electric heat pumps in city-owned apartments.
| Aug 17, 2022
IBM’s former office buildings in Boca Raton turn into a modern tech campus
Built in 1968, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), at 1.7 million square feet, is the largest office campus in Florida.
| Aug 16, 2022
DOE funds 18 projects developing tech to enable buildings to store carbon
The Department of Energy announced $39 million in awards for 18 projects that are developing technologies to transform buildings into net carbon storage structures.
| Aug 16, 2022
Multifamily holds strong – for now
All leading indicators show that the multifamily sector is shrugging off rising interest rates, inflationary pressures and other economic challenges, and will continue to be a torrid market for design and construction firms for at least the rest of 2022.
| Aug 16, 2022
Cedars-Sinai Urgent Care Clinic’s high design for urgent care
The new Cedars-Sinai Los Feliz Urgent Care Clinic in Los Angeles plays against type, offering a stylized design to what are typically mundane, utilitarian buildings.
| Aug 15, 2022
IF you build it, will they come? The problem of staff respite in healthcare facilities
Architects and designers have long argued for the value of respite spaces in healthcare facilities.
| Aug 15, 2022
Boston high-rise will be largest Passive House office building in the world
Winthrop Center, a new 691-foot tall, mixed-use tower in Boston was recently honored with the Passive House Trailblazer award.