- Social:
Chairman, Friends of the Los Angeles River
Architect and chairman of the advocacy group Friends of the Los Angeles River
PROFILE
Alex Ward
Guest
FROM Alex Ward
Design and Architecture
A New Direction for the Sixth Street Bridge One of LA’s landmarks is the Sixth Street Bridge, an 80-year old viaduct connecting Boyle Heights to downtown with a 3500 feet span. Now the bridge is sick—with what’s being described as “concrete cancer”—and back in April we reported that the Bureau of Engineering had put out a call to designers internationally to compete to create an iconic replacement. Alex Ward heads up the Friends of the Los Angeles River, and he describes why he pushed for years to ante up the ambition for the new bridge. Now the City has narrowed down the Sixth Street Viaduct Replacement competition to three teams—HNTB, AECOM and Parsons Brinckerhoff—and last week, at Puente Learning Center in Boyle Heights, they started the first of four public presentations. Among those present was Councilman José Huizar, who represents the 14th district, which includes the Sixth Street bridge. The councilman grew up in Boyle Heights, and describes why the bridge had a meaning for him that made him resistant at first to change. To get an idea of the three bridge concepts, Frances speaks to a representative from each team: Engineer Juan Murillo from Parsons Brinckerhoff; Ron Yee, bridge designer for AECOM, and Theodore Zoli, bridge engineer for HNTB. Although the primary objective for the bridge is to carry vehicles, the designs also include pedestrian walkways, bike lanes and green spaces, and landscape architect Mary Margaret Jones of Hargreaves explains how these features help the bridge become a greater asset to the neighborhoods it connects. Finally, FoLAR co-founder Lewis MacAdams chimes in with his thoughts on how the bridge will bring more attention to the changing river. The Bureau of Engineering, with Cal Trans, will make its recommendation for the winning team in October, after hearing from the public, from political representatives and from the Design Aesthetic Advisory Committee. If you'd like to see the designs for yourself and weigh in, the final public meeting is tonight, Tuesday, September 18, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center, 1600 E. 4th Street. Details here . Here are images and animations from all three finalists. Parsons Brinckerhoff with Safdie Rabines Architects and Mia Lehrer + Associates AECOM with bridge designer Ron Yee HNTB, with Michael Maltzan Architecture and Hargreaves Associates All images courtesy of the Bureau of Engineering
Design and Architecture
Redesigning LA's Sixth Street Viaduct The Sixth Street Viaduct, connecting Los Angeles's downtown to the neighborhood of Boyle Heights, is a historic structure designed eighty years ago by Merrill Butler of LA’s Bureau of Engineering. But the structure is crumbling and has to be rebuilt. For a long time it has seemed as if city engineers were going to replace it with a utilitarian but boring structure. Then last week they announced an international competition to find a designer who can build something really imaginative. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa offers his thoughts on why the city opened up the challenge to a wider audience. But what should the bridge look like? Advocacy groups like Friends of the Los Angeles River (FOLAR) are pushing for an ambitious design. Alex Ward, architect and chair of FOLAR, describes his vision for the new bridge. It’s not unusual for cities to use competitions to attract innovative and high-level public architecture. Gary Lee Moore is LA's City Engineer and explains how the City of LA plans to select its designer for the $400 million project. More information is available at the competition website . The view of the bridge from 6th Street. Photos courtesy City of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering
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