Using the Useless, Art Bridge in Los Angeles
Great Wall of Los Angeles Interpretive Green Bridge – Art Bridge, by wHY-Architecture
Timeline: Design 2007-2008
Construction: 2009-2010
The Art Bridge is a product and a reflection of the Los Angeles River, which in turn is the reflection of Los Angeles history. The bridge structure will be built substantially from trash salvaged from the river itself; concrete walls cast with bottle glass, cans, Styrofoam, dirt and debris; floor and pavement made from recycled tires, tennis balls and scrap metal; bridge guardrail made from recycled parts of shopping carts scattered in the riverbed as a symbol of regeneration and sustainable design. Photovoltaic panels on the canopy will generate electricity for lighting at night.
Spanning across the LA River, the Art Bridge not only serves as a pedestrian bridge for the college and school in the community, but also as an interpretative station for viewing and understanding the significance of the Great Wall of Los Angeles mural by artist/muralist Judith Baca. The slit in the bridge floor reveals the river beneath, symbolizing the scar in the landscape manifested by the concreted river, and the division it ultimately created in the community.
Walking across this bridge, visitors may experience the time makers, reading about the history of the city as told by the river and by the mural. The bridge will not only serve as a physical connection from the school to the community, but it will also make a connection for the visitor between the history of the river and Los Angeles, and the void in knowledge and awareness of events depicted in the Great Wall of Los Angeles.
wHY Architecture
wHY Architecture is a workshop consistent of creative architects and designers that bring a fresh and original approach to each of their projects. Bringing their teamwork approach to all projects and injects new ideas and solutions in architecture so that it is executed with the highest degree of quality and alertness in the act of constructing.
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The Great Wall of Los Angeles site is actually on the Tujunga Wash, not the Los Angeles River. It's a tributary of the Los Angeles River, but not the river itself.
Is this the final design? or just a concept? I like the overall design, including the visible incorporation of trash into the bridge's walls.
These are the rendering images and information from the architects that are constructing the bridge. It seems to be the final design, though, in the process of building (2009 - 2010), you never know, they might change their concept.