Project Brief

Pierre Mendes Consultants Ltd. & Mendes Engineers has been commissioned by AA Studios to provide the associated structural engineering design and documentation for a new pedestrian overpass on the University of Waterloo campus. The bridge passes over University Avenue, connecting Carl A. Pollock Hall with the staircase leading to parking lot A. The proposed bridge consists of a series of 4 pairs of crossed arches, spanning 5 “Y” shaped piers at the same locations as the current supports, with the exception of the outermost piers, placed near the ends of the overpass.

Concept

The motivation behind this concept is twofold: practicality and aesthetics.

Practicality

By keeping the piers at the same location as the previous bridge, we are able to keep horizontal spanning distances to a minimum. This reduces the scale of our bridge and increases feasibility. Without any additional support, the horizontal platforms will tend to deflect downwards at their midspan. This means additional support provided between the piers could reduce said deflection and redirect the load in the piers.

Aesthetics

For the choice of intermediary structural support to counter midspan deflection, we decided to go with arches for their clean and modern feel. By slitting the top of the piers into “Y”’s and connecting them to the base of the arches, a sense of continuity and fluidity is created. The arches are crossed for a more innovative design, and a pedestrian walkway with a curved roof slides underneath the arches and vaguely mirrors the shape and feel of the new Waterloo ION light rail it towers over.