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DRAGONFLY BRIDGE

Columbus, OH

Status: Competition Entry

Architect: Endrestudio

This lightweight pedestrian bridge presents a modern response to Columbus’ long-standing history of arch building. Arches first appeared in Ohio in the twentieth century, with the construction of dozens of wooden arches spanning over High Street marking the beginning of this tradition. In this bridge, structure appears in layers at four different scales, responding to requirements for different loading conditions. This specificity enables extreme efficiencies, in some cases yielding a 1700:1 span-to-depth ratio. The arch’s component pieces, consisting of a vierendeel truss, a trussed handrail, and fink-trussed cable hangers, create this formidable combination. The arch gently increases in width from the banks to its apex. In one design variation, two ring-cable walkways counterbalance each other by flaring out 100 feet from the centerline of the bridge.