{"id":22683,"date":"2014-09-08T19:01:43","date_gmt":"2014-09-08T17:01:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/pedestrian-bridge-2\/"},"modified":"2016-01-29T18:19:41","modified_gmt":"2016-01-29T17:19:41","slug":"pedestrian-bridge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.area-arch.it\/en\/pedestrian-bridge\/","title":{"rendered":"Pedestrian Bridge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Located in a densely vegetated site in Lake Austin, this pedestrian bridge connects the main house in the property with a newly constructed guest house. The guesthouse is surrounded by a natural landscape that includes reed-covered wetlands, which serve as a migratory stop for egrets, cranes and swans.\u00a0 The development of the project utilized a meticulous analysis of the existing vegetation and wild life to implement a ten year plan that will eliminate invasive plants, reintroduce native plants, and restore and increase the existing wetlands. With a design inspired in the reeds and other native vegetation that cover the shores of the lake, this bridge is a light and maintenance-free structure integrated in its beautiful wetland setting. The bars\/reeds intertwine at the abutments and \u201cgrow\u201d over the bridge, camouflaging it and turning into symbiotic, almost invisible link. The bridge is composed of three elements:
\nSuperstructure.
\nThe arch structure spans 100 feet with a main span of 80 feet.\u00a0 It is composed of five nested five inch diameter pipes that diverge gracefully between the spring-point of the main span and the abutment at the beginning of the bridge.
\nDecking and Railing
\nThe pipes support 1\/2\u201d diameter bars which become both decking and guardrail with a simple field bend from horizontal to vertical.\u00a0 The irregular length and close spacing of the bars recall the native reeds of the site, and the thin profile of the superstructure is made thinner when viewed through the visual veil of the reeds. The hand rail consists of a rope secured with steel wire rings to a 1×1 horizontal tube welded to the vertical bars.
\nAbutment
\nNative stone slabs are layered vertically to create the ramps at the abutments.\u00a0 Deep raked joints recreate the rhythm of the steel bars of the deck and railings. To further integrate the bridge in its natural setting the steel is left unfinished to weather, just like the rope handrail and the stone ramps.<\/p>\n