BRIDGE

Project Overview

This pedestrian bridge design explores the intersection of art and technology through the lens of a dystopian urban border crossing. The project challenged me to create a structure that not only functions as a physical connection across a river but also expresses cultural meaning and human experience through architectural form.

Working at 1/8" = 1'-0" scale, I constructed this bridge model using basswood, brown cardboard, and accent materials to demonstrate structural integrity while creating distinct spatial experiences of transition, repose, and arrival for pedestrians crossing between two urban embankments.

Design Concept

My concept centered on three defining words from the dystopian condition: Robotic, Immersive, and Stormy. These qualities guided every design decision, from the angular structural elements to the dramatic lighting effects that create stark contrasts between illuminated passages and shadowed spaces.

The bridge embodies tension between control and movement—rigid geometric forms are punctuated by dynamic lighting that suggests hope and possibility within a constrained urban environment. The red illumination serves as both warning and beacon, a narrative element that speaks to the emotional experience of crossing borders in uncertain times.

Project Meta

Date Spring 2025 Role Architectural Designer Location Oklahoma State University

Skills

Human Experience

The bridge creates a deliberate sequence of spatial experiences. Users enter through a compressed threshold, transition across an exposed central span with dramatic views to the river below, and arrive through a sheltered terminus. Strategic use of partial enclosure and structural shade elements modulates light quality and creates psychological waypoints along the crossing journey.

This project taught me that architecture is fundamentally about crafting human experience—every structural decision became an opportunity to shape how people feel as they move through space. The lighting study became a meditation on atmosphere, emotion, and the power of architecture to tell stories.

Key Learnings

This project deepened my understanding of how structure and aesthetics must work in harmony. I learned to think systematically about load paths, compression forces, and cantilever limits while simultaneously considering the emotional impact of form, light, and spatial sequence. The process of translating an abstract concept (dystopia) into physical architecture required both analytical rigor and creative imagination—skills that directly translate to my current work in Computer Information Systems, where I design digital experiences that must be both technically sound and emotionally resonant.