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More on the I-40 Pedestrian Bridge

Blair — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:09:45 +0000

Follow up on my previous post on the new I-40 pedestrian bridge, which I now know is called the “SkyDance Bridge”. Doug Loudenback has put up a nice post that includes the Core to Shore masterplan and shows the location of the bridge on the Harvey alignment and photos of a model of the bridge that currently is sitting at city hall. This north-south pedestrian alignment will extend all of the way from the river, across I-40 (via this bridge) and up into downtown where it will intersect the new Devon Tower rotunda. The model of the bridge is especially helpful in understanding the whole design, including a small pivot that takes play halfway across the bridge, which I assume is both for aesthetic value and to help align the paths on either side of the highway. Also, I have included all of the members of the team with links to the websites that I have found. While many of these guys have yet to do a project of this scale and significance, all of them have have been doing terrific architecture around Oklahoma City for years. Finally, there is the video from newsok.com that includes commentary from lead designers Hans Butzer and Stan Carroll on the design, including information on the two lighting schemes that will either glow from withing the translucent ETF skinned north face or provide dramatic sculptural lighting that shines from below.

Video

MODEL OF THE BRIDGE	DESIGN TEAM
	Hans Butzer Butzer-Gardner Stan Carroll Beyond Metal Kenneth Fitzsimmons TASK Design Jeremy Gardner Butzer-Gardner Brett Johnson J3 Architecture Doug Klassen MKEC Engineering Laurent Massenat Obelisk Engineering Chris Ramseyer OU School of Civil Engineering Karl Svaty MKEC Engineering David Wanzer J3 Architecture

MODEL OF THE BRIDGE

DESIGN TEAM

Hans Butzer
Butzer-Gardner

Stan Carroll
Beyond Metal

Kenneth Fitzsimmons
TASK Design

Jeremy Gardner
Butzer-Gardner

Brett Johnson
J3 Architecture

Doug Klassen
MKEC Engineering

Laurent Massenat
Obelisk Engineering

Chris Ramseyer
OU School of Civil Engineering

Karl Svaty
MKEC Engineering

David Wanzer
J3 Architecture

The NEW I-40 Pedestrian Bridge

Blair — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 07:36:12 +0000

Congratulations to Hans Butzer and his team at the Butzer Design Partnership on their competition winning design for the new I-40 pedestrian bridge! I spoke to Hans about a month ago and he said that he was very excited about the design they were submitting for the competition – and now I know why. The bridge is beautiful, with a dramatic stretch towards the sky and a silhouette that evokes imagery unique to Oklahoma. I didn’t have to see the design concept to know that it was inspired by the Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, the state bird of Oklahoma. While the inspiration can be easily deduced, the design maintains an elegance of form that is wholly unique.

Some Guy (that is his name “Some Guy”) commented on a forum at okctalk.com:

Having seen all of the final presentations and models, I believe the winning team simply out-designed everybody else — including one worldwide architectural firm who does nothing but bridges and another worldwide firm who has designed many of the new structures you’ve seen as part of the Beijing Olympics. The local guys went toe-to-toe in an international competition and won…Who knew we had this kind of talent right here in Oklahoma City?

Actually, a lot of people have already recognized the talent of Hans (and his wife Torrey) after their design for the OKC Memorial beat out 623 entries from around the world. When they submitted their memorial designs they were living and working in Berlin, then Hans completed much of the work during his graduate program at the Harvard GSD. After graduating from school, they settled down right here in OKC. Hans is someone I really admire and has taught (and I hope will continue to teach) me so much about planning, architecture, and urban design. I really feel like we are lucky to have him in Oklahoma City, and it is nice to see him again involved in a dynamic design project that will greatly contribute to the architectural richness of Oklahoma City.

Still, Some Guy does make a good point, we do have more talent in Oklahoma City than we often realize. One thing that makes this project so wonderful is that Hans was only one member of a much larger team that all contributed to the design; a team that includes some of the best young architects our city has to offer. Hopefully local developers, organizations, institutions, and philanthropists will take note of the design, and of the fact that we have a wealth of architectural talent that goes largely untapped on major projects.

The future is bright for Oklahoma City! When this bridge is complete, the city will have a new landmark. A landmark that will be seen by thousands of people everyday. Even those persons that pass through on I-40 without stopping will be forced to see and no doubt enjoy the beauty of the design. The good times are rolling in OKC – I can’t wait to see what is next. Congratulations to the design team, to the city for running a successful competition, and to the people of Oklahoma City who who will get to enjoy this bridge for decades to come!

Brandon Specketer: A Native Talent

Blair — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:50:57 +0000

The other day I happened upon the online design portfolio of Brandon Specketer. Brandon is a fellow alum of both P.C. North and the University of Oklahoma. He graduated two years ahead of me and I always knew him to be a stand-up guy and an incredibly fast runner. While at OU, he studied under Hans Butzer – the award-winning designer of the Oklahoma City National Memorial – and has also previously worked as an intern for Elliot + Associates here in Oklahoma City. Unfortunately, Brandon is currently living in New York, continuing his architecture career with Cook+Fox. Hopefully he will make it back to OKC soon so that we can experience his design work firsthand, but in the meantime he has given me permission to highlight some of his work.

OKLAHOMA CITY METRO STATION

These designs for an old class project exploring the possibility of commuter rail in Oklahoma City caught my eye immediately. As a huge proponent of improving and expanding our transportation options (a position becoming increasingly popular these days), it is interesting to consider this straight-forward design that utilizes the existing rail infrastructure.

THE FLATIRON

Another project from his days at OU focuses on 131 Harrison, the building referred to as ‘The Flatiron’. Many of you know that this property is currently being developed by The Humphreys Company, where my older brother Grant serves as CEO and father Kirk as Chairman. Jim Hasenbeck and the gang at Studio Architecture have put together an absolutely terrific design that – in my somewhat slash completely biased opinion – will be the exemplar urban mixed-use development in Oklahoma City (you can check out some renderings at OKC Central). That said, it is always fun to see another person’s vision for the city and what Specketer offers is pretty cool.

Conceptual sketch of circulation and conceptual model of structural system.

INTERIOR DESIGN

Brandon had the opportunity to show off his interior design capabilities when HGTV.com showcased his NYC ‘bachelors’ pad‘. His apartment is cool, but what I really like are the designs for the London offices of Ackerman McQueen, an Oklahoma City based advertising firm. Brandon contributed to the project as an intern alongside Jay Yowell and the firm’s principle Rand Elliot. The project won an AIA 2005 Interiors Honors Award and a Merit Award in Interior Architecture in a competition of the Central States Region of the American Institute of Architects. They say that it is “The illusion and abstraction of London fog carries the project” and you can certainly see what they mean:

SKETCHES

Finally, check out these sketches. I am envious of anybody that can create such beauty with only pencil and paper.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, Brandon Specketer is a great talent. I wish him the best with everything, even if life doesn’t lead him back our way. But my guess is that at some point Brandon will move back to OKC, because I believe that the paradigm has shifted, that the tremendous renaissance currently being experienced by our City has caught the attention of Brandon and many others like him. As the quality of life in our city improves and the opportunities for creative professionals increase, Oklahoma City is likely to experience a rush of talent like it hasn’t seen since 1889. Because all else being equal – the familiar places, friendly people, and absolutely beautiful sunsets are hard to pass up!

If you would like to see more of Brandon Specketer’s work you can check out his portfolio at ryecroft.net!