Northern Avenue Bridge Fort Point Channel

c_combat said:
Is anyone going to enter the competition for the design of a new Northern Ave Bridge?????
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I did. As a vet I wanted to tie the bridge into the new Seaport Memorial. I went into greater detail in the proposal.

I made it similar to the Samuel Beckett bridge but I made the tower rigid with no tower support cables, 7 thick span cables to keep it airy, and a cut out to resemble the Irish harp. I put the peak right over the middle of fort point to fill that void in the skyline between downtown and the seaport. Overall Im happy with the proposal and I hope I can at least make it into the discussion with these other architects.

Before I knew how the competition worked I personally went into the BRA with this proposal in a binder printed out with the renders printed onto photo paper and met with the BRA director. He told me he did not want to look because architects from as far as Japan were going to be submitting and he did not want any bias, so instead we just talked for a while in his office. I was able to show it to a few other people who worked in different departments and they all seemed to like the idea. Im not an architect but I put a lot of time into getting this right and I hope it can at least be in the discussion. Overall it was definitely a cool experience meeting with them and designing the bridge in general and I encourage all of you guys to take a chance when things like this come up. The worst thing that can happen is you don't get selected. Best case scenario is you do. Even if its not chosen its good to have many different visions/ideas for people to choose from. Competition is good for the best results.

This I had already posted above but this is one of the angles I drew. Theres a few more in the actual proposal along with the picture of how it ties into the street/harbor walk/waterfront. I followed the grade of the Moakley bridge next door so it is definitely do-able.



Heres the link to the proposal:
http://dl.northernavebridge.org/submissions/pdfs/MA%20Fallen%20Vets%20Mem%20Bridgeposter.pdf

.
 
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stick n move said:
I did. As a vet I wanted to tie the bridge into the new Seaport Memorial. I went into greater detail in the proposal.

I made it similar to the Samuel Beckett bridge but I made the tower rigid with no tower support cables, 7 thick span cables to keep it airy, and a cut out to resemble the Irish harp. I put the peak right over the middle of fort point to fill that void in the skyline between downtown and the seaport. Overall Im happy with the proposal and I hope I can at least make it into the discussion with these other architects.

Before I knew how the competition worked I personally went into the BRA with this proposal in a binder printed out with the renders printed onto photo paper and met with the BRA director. He told me he did not want to look because architects from as far as Japan were going to be submitting and he did not want any bias, so instead we just talked for a while in his office. I was able to show it to a few other people who worked in different departments and they all seemed to like the idea. Im not an architect but I put a lot of time into getting this right and I hope it can at least be in the discussion. Overall it was definitely a cool experience meeting with them and designing the bridge in general and I encourage all of you guys to take a chance when things like this come up. The worst thing that can happen is you don't get selected. Best case scenario is you do. Even if its not chosen its good to have many different visions/ideas for people to choose from. Competition is good for the best results.

This I had already posted above but this is one of the angles I drew. Theres a few more in the actual proposal along with the picture of how it ties into the street/harbor walk/waterfront. I followed the grade of the Moakley bridge next door so it is definitely do-able.



Heres the link to the proposal:
http://dl.northernavebridge.org/submissions/pdfs/MA%20Fallen%20Vets%20Mem%20Bridgeposter.pdf

.
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Your concept is so elegant (any one of the variants). This would be a great gateway bridge, and a new icon for Boston!
 
Thank you I really appreciate that. Whether people do or don't like it I just had a vision for the area and wanted to see if other people felt the same. Im interested to see what happens.
 
stick n move said:
Thank you I really appreciate that. Whether people do or don't like it I just had a vision for the area and wanted to see if other people felt the same. Im interested to see what happens.
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Yours is probably my favorite design. It would be great if the city could turn this new bridge into a landmark. Some of the beach options seemed cool also but I honestly doubt that a beach at this location would be used often. I could see the beach becoming overgrown grass over time.
 
The +Bridge has a nice feel. The low-profile, gradually weaving passageways have a human scale to them. There are a few which focus on sustainable wetlands & smart re-use of the existing structure like the one DAVE posted, which have merit. Overall, I'm impressed with many of the submissions.

@stick n move- nice tie in to Irish heritage and use as a Veterans' memorial. Thank you for your service as well. Hopefully the J Hook development would not block views of dramatic proposals such as yours. Also, I thought these entries are great eye candy. Perhaps not the most appropriate, but really fun nonetheless:

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Larger: http://dl.northernavebridge.org/submissions/pdfs/NAB%20Board.042816.pdf

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Larger: http://dl.northernavebridge.org/submissions/pdfs/ChannelSomeFun_final_reduced.pdf

These are 2 of my 4 entries, each with different vehicular accommodations (from zero access to full 2-way traffic), but as many agree, I favor the pedestrian/cycle access only. sm89 mentioned the potential need for a one-way inbound lane, and one of my concepts includes this. Here are a couple, one treating a portion of the swing draw as a museum, and the other as an area for local artists to shine in an environment of quiet retreat:

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larger: https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7231/26267035624_c5407aa5e0_k.jpg

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larger: https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7025/26872522185_3f19b1132f_k.jpg
 
If you guys like my idea and you have a tumblr account please click the like button under the proposal. They are going to have a peoples choice vote and I would imagine it helps toward the final selections. If you like another proposal you can also click like on that one. You can like which ever ones you want, but if you do like the Mass Fallen Veterans Memorial Bridge please vote. As a veteran it was very important to me to tie this bridge into the new seaport memorial. You don't have to agree with me as a poster on this forum if you feel like this is a solid proposal please vote. If not vote for a different proposal. We are lucky enough to be blessed with the opportunity to have a public design competition here, we should all participate in some way if you are passionate about the betterment of the area. Thank you.



[URL=http://s20.photobucket.com/user/deryn/media/bridg%20harp.png.html][/URL]



Link to proposal on BRA website. If you like it you just click the heart icon under the proposal. Thanks.

http://www.northernavebridge.org/post/143931770395/massachusetts-fallen-veterans-memorial-bridge
 
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Equilibria said:
I guess it's a big night for the entrants (great work all!) but we'll see what responses they get to the RFP. It's a design RFP, so the bids have no obligation to follow the winning design(s).
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Hopefully they don't actually build a new car bridge here. A fourth car bridge is overkill. A pedestrian bridge here sure. A pedestrian bridge down past Summer St sure.
 
tangent said:
Hopefully they don't actually build a new car bridge here. A fourth car bridge is overkill. A pedestrian bridge here sure. A pedestrian bridge down past Summer St sure.
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Tangent -- I think what is needed is a One way reversing the directions to handle the peaks -- for all vehicles and 2 way for prdestrians at all times

But you are right another Pedestrian Only Bridge should be on the agenda as well -- further along the Channel -- by the middle to end of the GE HQ property
 
Even some of the more outlandish proposals were with just a few exceptions very quality. Great work by everyone that submitted!

Stick - I didn't see your proposal on the website, unless I missed it? I hope it is being considered as I think it's very elegant and feasible enough to be built.

There's clearly a lot of design talent here that's willing to engage thoughtfully and creatively with our built environment. Hopefully this kind of exercise can be done more often.
 
I thought these were particularly clever:

1. Just Fix the Fucking Bridge:
Link

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2. Turn it into an abstract clock (n.b. hour hand only)
Link

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3. Relocate the truss further down the channel to the old 'Mt Washington Ave.' alignment ; build a new redline station with bus transfer
Link

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4. Build a nice historical boat themed thing at the headhouse (I think the redev. value of that has been totally low profile, and I can't figure out why).
Link

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5. Rotate it a bit to create ramps to a new mid-channel pier / island (I think this is a really elegant solution)
Link

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6. And last but not least - this brilliant satire, from an illustrious source:
Link


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The text is priceless:
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I cant attend the meeting tonight. Does anyone know if there is a live stream and if not if any of you guys go can you keep us updated on what happened. Thanks
 
stick n move said:
I cant attend the meeting tonight. Does anyone know if there is a live stream and if not if any of you guys go can you keep us updated on what happened. Thanks
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I'm not there, but I'm following it from #NorthernAveContest on Twitter. Some good info there.

A botanical bridge won first. I'd pull pics, but I'm on my phone.
 
Congratulations to the winners, and to all the participants. Lots of creativity and hard work. There is no formal announcement yet, but here are most of the winners from what I could gather last night. Forgive me for leaving out any of them:

Winners:

+(Plus) Bridge:
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NABB (Northern Avenue Botanical Bridge):
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Island In The Stream:
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Northern Avenue Bridge Park:
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Popular Vote- Pivot Point Bridge:
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Honorable Mentions:

Steampunk Gateway:
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Channel Mall Station:
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"Island in the Stream" was my favorite when I looked over the submissions. I love the idea of parking the bridge open, leaving it as a public space, and connecting it to both sides of the channel with a less substantial bike/ped bridge. Maybe the headhouse (?) could be developed into a restaurant/bar/café too.
 
Really wanted the Ferris Wheel proposal. Looked awesome combined with a park. Such a better location than awful City Hall Plaza.
 
I definitely like the northern avenue bridge park the best. It looks absolutely amazing and keeps the old bridge intact along with access to the channel. That is basically what I would expect for a restoration/revamp project.

The plus bridge looks awesome, but when you look closer you realize it blocks off the entire channel. For that to be one of the winners is one of the most short sighted things I have ever seen happen in my entire life. The botanical bridge as well, what is that like 4 feet off the water. They look great but raise it off of the fucking water for christ sake. You never know what is in store in the future, don't knock out an entire realm of unlimited possibilities just to get close to the water. Plenty of other proposals above show how to get close to the water without fucking the entire channel. If you are going to block off the entire channel what is the point of any other bridges or even the channel itself? Might as well fill it in at that point and sell the land. Horrendous idea.

The post office is going away some day. GE is locating right on the water. South Station is expanding and dot ave is reopening. Seaport Square is half done. Once GE moves to the water, the post office moves, and the other waterfront parcels are developed would it not be a great idea to have multiple water taxis from South Station to different points all across the city? Maybe it will happen maybe it wont but it most definitely wont if you block off the entire fucking channel. Also with all that developable land there you know theres going to be a liberty wharf in there. Even if it never comes to fruition why cut the head off of the snake before you even get a chance to try? Yea the channel sucks now, but so did so many other places in Boston. It takes time and a vision and I believe that if you keep the channel open to boat traffic one day when the seaport fills in and the post office moves it will be a very nice place to be.

Luckily none of these are going to be built as per the bra guidelines, they are just to give them ideas for when they issue the RFP later. The Northern Ave Bridge park is probably a version of what we will end up with as an end result, but the others that respect the future of the channel look good too. I'm hoping the bridges that block the whole fucking channel and won, did so because they can be modified to be great, not because they actually think blocking the channel is a good idea. Should be interesting to see what direction they take once its time to pick a developer. If they block off the channel though its going to be a huge mistake that will squander the entire area before it ever even has a chance to become something great. Well see what happens.
 
I thought there was some legal reason they couldn't block the channel so that any proposal has to allow for access for boats of a certain height.
 
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