Triple Bridge Gateway

After more than ten years of community planning, design and construction, a system of vehicular ramps over Ninth Avenue has been transformed into a vibrant, glowing infrastructural public art installation. The end result is a visual and architectural achievement that delights the residents, motorists and visitors to this highly trafficked area. After winning the Triple Bridge Gateway design commission, the chosen firm began to incorporate architectural improvements to this Hells Kitchen public space. The firms project scope included a new titanium faade to replace the terminals tired brick, a new entry canopy, and new commercial space to enliven the streetscape experience. The firm also completed a new faade for the Project Find space with custom designed fritted glass to provide needed privacy for the facility. In terms of the design choices for the bridges metals, lighting and color pattern were crafted to emphasize the I-beam engineered structure. A chain-link containment system wraps the sides and undersides of each ramp. The highly detailed stainless steel mesh works in conjunction with lighting as a theatrical scrim reflecting and defusing light, as well as providing full-time maintenance access. The lighting fixtures selected had to withstand vibration and extreme weather conditions and unique mountings were designed to achieve site-specific effects from industrial fixtures. Multiple light sources illuminate the bridge structure and the area under the bridges without interfering with ramp and roadway lighting. A computer-sequenced illumination scheme completes the project directive and brings this dynamic urban sculpture and transformed public space alive year-round.