The city’s ambition aimed to create a connection between the Vine City MARTA station and the western entry into Mercedes Benz Stadium. Functional aspects address safety when crossing State Highway 41 while a formal gesture symbolizes Atlanta’s commitment to connect back toward the Vine City neighborhood as encouragement for rehabilitation. Though the ambition was clear the design became more complex with variables defined by the NFL, implosion of the Georgia Dome, highway expansion and the below-grade MARTA transit tunnel. Through an intensive study of slope and orientation the bridge seamlessly negotiates constraints yet maintains the desire to placemake and respect the scale of the neighborhood.
The smooth geometry commands its own identity apart from the stadium, creating a soft transition toward the urban edge. The form creates a winding path anchored at two visual points on both ends connecting with the ground plane and allowing pedestrians visual interaction with the street level. The smooth, simple gesture of the shade structure forms out of the deck profile, creating a spatial experience evocative of passing through a gameday tunnel. Diamond-shaped panels were introduced to achieve the curved profile and as a subtle cue back to the stadium architecture with varying degrees of perforation for controlled views outward and ample shading. A continuous slope encourages a paced progression that allows pedestrians to take in the city views and functionally handles 20,000+ during gameday activity.
Status: Built
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Role: Lead Designer
Additional Credits: CallisonRTKL, CPL-Architect of Record, Design/Build
Eduardo Castaneda
Timothy Shippey
Yu Xin