Stainless Steel Mesh From GKD Helps Suspend Single Arch Across A Burnaby, BC Bridge
Canadian residents in Burnaby, BC delight in a new stainless steel mesh bridge walkway made from GKD stainless steel mesh. The award-winning Griffiths Drive Pedestrian Bridge offers a major benefit to the community by connecting residential areas with the schools located on the other side of a 4-lane motorway.
The most distinguishing feature of the bridge, its single pronounced arch that stretches diagonally across the bridge, is a design created by the architects at Fast + Epp and Busby Perkins+Will. Connecting the dramatic arch to the supporting structure are giant stainless steel cables.
Two-meter-high Futura 3110 metal mesh elements fitted on the sides protect pedestrians crossing the bridge from gusts of wind. The 32 panels, which curve gently towards the center of the bridge and are mounted by means of round rods and eyebolts integrated into the mesh, both provide reliable fall guard protection and underline the transparent appearance of the design. Futura 3110 flexibility allows this type of metal mesh to be used in industrial applications and large structural overhauls such as the Griffiths overpass.
The overall effect creates a visually-striking, cable-suspended pedestrian walkway. The GKD cables suspend the bridge in such a way that users experience an ethereal suspension visible to passerby’s along the road below. The bridge stands out in Burnaby as an architectural sculpture and hits five major development objectives: the bridge is safe, accessible, low maintenance, aesthetically pleasing, and economical.
The entire structure takes up a space that is twelve-feet wide by sixty-five-feet-long; while the stainless-steel mesh screen towers at eight-feet-high. The high mesh structures on the side provide protection along the main span. Pedestrians follow an S-shaped path that uniquely allows for a right-of-way at either side of the street.
information courtesy of Perkins & Will
photography courtesy of Stephen Pasche of Fast + Epp
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