A year after the opening of their United States Olympic & Paralympic Museum (USOPM) opening, Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) finish the 250-foot-long pedestrian steel bridge that connects the museum with adjacent America the Beautiful Park on July 1st, 2021.
Images by Jason o’rear
The 550-ton steel bridge is suspended above an active railroad that separates the museum and the park. It takes the form of two intersecting loops that imitate the agile and taut motion of athletes–a ‘gravity-defying motion’ as stated by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R).
“The bridge takes us places physically from downtown Colorado Springs and the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum over a river or railroad tracks to a beautiful park at the confluence of two creeks in a majestic view of Pikes Peak,” said Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers in a statement. “It unites a city and a park, and I confidently predict it will be among the most iconic and most photographed landmarks in Olympic City USA.”
Images by Jason o’rear
The Park Union Bridge cost $20 million and was prefabricated in Houston by Kind Fabrication and delivered to Colorado Springs in pieces to be assembled in a nearby area then hoisted into its place above the railroad. Anderson Mason Dale Architects was the architect of record on both the Olympic & Paralympic Museum and the Park Union Bridge, while Arup served as the structural engineer for the latter.
Images by Jason o’rear
“We were thrilled to witness members of the Colorado Springs community take ownership of this unique bridge, not just as a means of connecting point A to B, but as a new landmark,” said Diller Scofidio + Renfro partner-in-charge Benjamin Gilmartin. “Families paused at the oculus to take in views of the museum, the park, and the majestic mountain ranges of Pikes Peak. Cyclists gliding along its 250-foot length reached out to touch its smooth curving steel arch. And on this special Independence Day weekend, visitors marveled not only at the trains they were hovering above but at an amazing display of fireworks in the distance.”
Images by Jason o’rear
The pedestrian circulation from the museum campus to America the Beautiful Park, and further to the rest of downtown Colorado Springs will change how people experience the urban features of the city and its rocky mountain views. The Park is a major renovation of an industrial area that happened partly because of Scofidio + Renfro’s USOPM. The museum functions as the starting point of the visitors’ journey into downtown Colorado Springs and is referred to as “the most interesting addition to our city’s urban core in decades,” by Chris Jenkins of Norwood Development.
Images by Jason o’rear
Colorado Springs is the second-most populous city in the Centennial State, and it is where several national sports facilities take place, including the United States Olympic Committee, the United States Olympic Training Center, and the USA Swimming. These opportunities added to the transformation of America the Beautiful Park, the development of USOPM, and the pedestrian bridge will all drive more crowd and more development projects into the area which will surely be an advantage to several sectors.
More than that, the completion of the Park Union Bridge will give the USOPM a second opportunity to celebrate its opening–the opening of the museum last July was not festive enough due to the severe COVID-19 safety measures. Although the museum is still up to these safety measures, new beginnings are always refreshing, especially because of the unique nature of USOPM; it was named ‘the country’s Best New Attraction in 2020’ by USA Today readers.
Images by Jason o’rear
‘The bridge, from idea to execution, represents how Colorado Springs is coming together to further create a city that matches its scenery,’ adds John Suthers, mayor of Colorado Springs. ‘Born of public and private visioning and cooperation, it will link east and west, people and parks, downtown and surrounds. investment in the redevelopment of southwest downtown is creating an urban destination that residents and visitors alike will enjoy well into the future.’
Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) is a US-based interdisciplinary design studio that integrates architecture, visual arts, and performing arts.