American Tobacco Trail Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, Durham, NC

SGA provided public process, conceptual structural design and bridge architecture design through 100% PS&E. The bridge closes a critical gap in the American Tobacco Multi-use Trail, which forms part of the East-Coast Greenway Trail. The project is adjacent to the largest shopping mall in North Carolina and the public design process led by SGA addresses merchant concerns including freeway closure, homeless encampment, and the enjoyment and security of bridge and pathway users.

The bridge structure is a stressed ribbon deck supported by a low profile steel arch.

Status: Responding to 90% PS&E Comments.

Scope of Work: Bridge Architecture services through 100% PS&E. Structural design of overhead cable and fence system.

Client:  Parsons-Brinckerhoff / City of Durham NC

Agencies Involved: City of Durham, NC, NC Dept. of Transportation

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San Francisco Bay Trail Castro Street to Richmond/San Rafael Bridge

SGA is the Project Bridge Architect for the design of a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge over the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California. The scope comprises concept alternatives analyses through PSR and 100% PS&E. This project will close a critical gap in the San Francisco Bay Trail which provides an important commuter and recreational resource for Bay Area residents and visitors to the region.

Bicycle access along this section of Interstate Highway 580, a major regional artery, is required by California Streets and Highways Code Section 888. This project will allow for elimination of what is currently dangerous and unseparated bicycle access. The complex constraints of existing refinery infrastructure, I-580, steep topography and waterfront conditions require that the project include a 600 to 1,000 foot bicycle and pedestrian bridge over sensitive security areas, and that the trail negotiate hillsides, retaining walls, and highway structures.

Year: 2009 - present

Cost: Total project cost estimated at $15 Million
Scope of Work: Bridge Architecture

Client:  Questa Engineering /City of Richmond

Agencies Involved: Caltrans, BCDC, ABAG, US Coast Guard

Live-Work Loft Build out

Structure and Form in Circulation Structures

These projects illustrate SGA’s use of innovative structural solutions to create architectural drama, solve geometrically challenging problems, and to integrate built form with the natural environment.

Floating Staircase for Hurricane Sam

This sculptural centerpiece for the live-work loft of Oakland-based jazz musician, Sam Rudin, uses 5-foot cantilevered tread supports, a single tapered stringer, and a tapering handrail cut from a single piece of clear Douglas Fir.  The stairway is framed by 20-foot high triangular walls to achieve the dramatic effect desired by this client.

Elizabeth Navas Finley captured some of the key ideas behind this design: "The balustrade is another stretch of sculpted fir attached to the wall with thin metal bars so it too, seems to float in the daylight that pours down from overhead. The staircase becomes an artwork creating an interior view and pulling the eye away from the windowless walls into the brilliantly lit center of the room". (SF Chronicle July 27, 1994)

Steven Grover & Associates led a team of design professionals to the successful solution of a long-span bridge design problem and trail design involving a highly complicated and controversial juxtaposition of land uses in Cupertino, California.  The bridge will span 8 freeway lanes, shoulders, on- and off-ramps, as well as a storm drain channel.  The trail will pass adjacent to a large high school, residential development, and a public storage facility.

A thorough study of project goals and concerns related to project implementation resulted in a clear formulation of specific design issues requiring solutions. They included privacy and security for adjacent residents, restriction of access to buffer zones for all but authorized users, creation of an interesting and pleasant user experience while deterring gathering and repose. SGA modeled geometry and prepared cost estimates for tubular through trusses and concrete box girder options, as well as tied arch, suspension, and cable-stayed options. A suspension bridge design was selected because it  provides minimal surfaces for graffiti, minimizes impact on residences by allowing for low ramp heights, and relates visually to the site context. Several factors contribute to making a suspension bridge competitive with a traditional concrete box for this project. These include savings in traffic control (no supports in freeway right-of-way), thin deck (shorter and lower ramping), and back span anchorages tied directly into a retaining wall system. The plan geometry incorporates a straight alignment over the freeway for economy and structural efficiency, but gentle curves at each end to pull the pathway away from residential development. Curving path alignments provide open sightlines, yet deter high cyclist speeds. The landscape design allows for scenic vistas but limits visual and physical access to restricted buffer areas.  It also creates a pleasant park-like environment while formally reinforcing a sense of movement to deter loitering or repose.

Location: Cupertino, CA

Bridge Length: 460 feet

Pathway Length: 1500 Feet

Bridge Construction Cost: $1.7 million

Pathway and Landscaping Construction Cost: $2.9 million

Client: City of Cupertino

Project Status: Schematic Design Approved by City Council, Final Project Funding Being Identified

Team Members

Steven Grover & Associates Prime Consultant, Bridge Architecture, Public Process

Bicycle Parking and Multi-use Trail, El Cerrito, CA

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission granted funds to the City of El Cerrito to develop a bicycle parking facility at the El Cerrito Plaza BART station. The City desired more than just bike parking; it wanted a landmark design statement as well. In 1999 Steven Grover & Associates was retained to provide architectural and engineering design services.

The City desired to provide bicycle parking that encourages bicycle use by being:

·         More secure than just bike racks - so that bikes will not be stripped of components,

·         Available on-demand, rather than only by long-term rental,

·         Visible and attractive - so that people are actively reminded of the option of biking.

The roof structure design employs a shimmering flexible glazing material and a three-hinged arch framing system from laser-cut steel to create a light and elegant linear structure which contrasts with the heavy linear concrete structure of the BART station and elevated rail system.

Location:

El Cerrito, CA

Construction Cost:

$320,000

Client:

City of El Cerrito

Project Status:

Construction Complete

Scope: Architecture, Structural, Engineering, Public Process,, Bike/Ped Trail Design