Multiple light sources were installed in custom mountings so as to illuminate ramps and bridges without interfering with roadway lighting. |
Judges saw the Triple Bridge Gateway in Midtown Manhattan as more art installation than building project, but they were impressed at how the illuminated ramps and bridges—14 years in the making—turned an ugly intersection into something beautiful.
The three bridges span 9th Avenue at the juncture where vehicles emerge from the Lincoln Tunnel heading to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's Manhattan Bus Terminal and other points in Manhattan.
Local firm PKSB Architects won the commission in 1995, but it took until August 2008 to complete the project. They transformed the gritty terminal with a titanium façade and a new entrance canopy, and wrapped ramps and bridges in a stainless steel scrim with highly polished reflector panels and a spectacular lighting system. A computer-sequenced illumination scheme changes weekly, playing a rotating schedule of visual compositions that turn this one-time eyesore into a glowing public artwork. —Jay W. Schneider, Senior Editor
Related Stories
| Aug 30, 2013
State Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, Jacobs, PCL Construction among nation's top state government design and construction firms, according to BD+C's 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 28, 2013
Federal Government Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest federal government design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 27, 2013
Industrial Sector Report [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Building Design+Construction's rankings of the nation's largest industrial sector design and construction firms, as reported in the 2013 Giants 300 Report.
| Aug 26, 2013
What you missed last week: Architecture billings up again; record year for hotel renovations; nation's most expensive real estate markets
BD+C's roundup of the top construction market news for the week of August 18 includes the latest architecture billings index from AIA and a BOMA study on the nation's most and least expensive commercial real estate markets.
| Aug 22, 2013
Energy-efficient glazing technology [AIA Course]
This course discuses the latest technological advances in glazing, which make possible ever more efficient enclosures with ever greater glazed area.
| Aug 22, 2013
6 visionary strategies for local government projects
Civic projects in Boston, Las Vegas, Austin, and suburban Atlanta show that a ‘big vision’ can also be a spur to neighborhood revitalization. Here are six visionary strategies for local government projects.
| Aug 22, 2013
Warehouse remake: Conversion project turns derelict freight terminal into modern office space [slideshow]
The goal of the Freight development is to attract businesses to an abandoned industrial zone north of downtown Denver.
| Aug 20, 2013
As costs rise, Building Teams turn to novel energy-saving schemes for data centers [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Shrinking IT budgets and rising operational costs have led data center operators and corporate clients to scrutinize project budgets. As a result, AEC firms are being tasked with finding solutions for lowering the overall cost of computing and operating and maintaining the facilities.
| Aug 20, 2013
Top Data Center Construction Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
DPR, Balfour Beatty, Holder head Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center contractors and construction management firms in the U.S.
| Aug 20, 2013
Top Data Center Engineering Firms [2013 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Syska, Jacobs top Building Design+Construction's 2013 ranking of the largest data center engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.