Hasta La Ideas

Some call it “March,” but to us, it’s Santiago Calatrava Bridge Month! A couple of weeks ago, the architect was in Dallas to unveil the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, his first vehicular bridge in the United States. The gleaming white parabola, which according to the Dallas Morning News cost a total of $182 million, is the first of a series of bridges designed by Calatrava’s office to span the Trinity River. Calatrava can keep on his cowboy hat for the next gala bridge inauguration, because it’s up in Calgary, Alberta. On Saturday, the city will celebrate the opening of his twisty, red Peace Bridge (pictured), a tubular steel truss creation that traverses the Bow River without supporting piers in the riverbed so as to minimize environmental impacts. Geometrical constraints led Calatrava to defy his taste for swooping verticals in favor of a low single-span design that will offer pedestrians protection during harsh Calgary winters. “Although the design concept for the Peace Bridge is very challenging, it is one that I am extremely proud of,” said the architect in a statement issued by his office.

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