CHIHULY BRIDGE OF GLASS

HLB collaborated with Andersson • Wise Architects on the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a 600 foot pedestrian bridge for the City of Tacoma . This new public landmark crosses a major freeway and connects a public park and the new Museum of Glass . Design goals were to provide a safe nighttime environment where pedestrians could experience the Chihuly pieces without intrusive light fixtures or an overwhelming ambient light level. As a result, poles and bollards were eliminated as possible means of lighting the path. Instead the design relies on fixtures mounted unobtrusively in the poured concrete seating benches and the contribution of light from the three pavilions which house the Chihuly pieces, including the Seaform Pavilion, the Gate and the Venetian Wall.

The glass piece of the Seaform Pavilion rests on a clear glass "ceiling". Above this there are rows of dimmable fluorescent lamps and halogen accent lights. The pavilion has an upper glass "roof" that allows daylight thru and protects the lighting and glass from weather. The Crystal Towers at the Gates are uplit with metal halide Bega floodlights. Each cell of the Venetian Wall is illuminated with end-point fiber optics. The illuminator is incorporated in the base of the display and the enclosed pavilions have mechanical systems to prevent condensation.

Since the bridge is over 600 feet long with exits at the two ends only and the bridge is open to the public 24 hours a day, the nighttime environment needed to feel safe, preventing the feeling of "entrapment" while passing over the freeway. Although the light levels in the pedestrian zones between pavilions are relatively low, maintaining uniformity and creating "opportunities of refuge and recognition" were an important part of the concept. Horizontal illumination was maintained the length of the bridge, but along the way there were several locations where additional vertical illumination was added. This additional vertical illumination allows the opportunity to better assess the other pedestrians. Places of refuge include the pavilions and the covered seating areas located between pavilions. At the covered seating areas, uplights in the bench provide feature lighting of the architectural canopy and provide indirect illumination for a greatly illuminated area with higher vertical light levels.