New Site Puts Portal Bridge Designs on the Web

PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A national design review of Pittsburgh’s iconic Point State Park portal bridge is now available for public review and comment, thanks to a newly-launched website.

“Portal to the Point: A Design Ideas Exploration”

“Portal to the Point: A Design Ideas Exploration” is an idea generation project focused on the portal bridge as an opportunity to add a bold new dimension to Pittsburgh’s signature urban park. Five concepts from design teams across the United States are now publicly available at www.portaltothepoint.org and are also on display for public review and comment.

Colcom Foundation initiated the project by engaging the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, with coordination by SPRINGBOARD Design, to issue an open call for design qualifications related to the portal bridge. The Foundation cited an interest in establishing a greater appreciation for one of Pittsburgh’s most interesting yet unheralded places.

SPRINGBOARD Design invited multidisciplinary teams from across the United States to explore ideas relating to the form, function, artistic elements, and interpretative design of the portal bridge and its immediate vicinity. Qualifications from fifteen design teams were submitted and five were selected by a review committee of architects, landscape architects, designers, artists, educators, and CEOs, as well as key stakeholders.

Five design teams from across the United States were selected to explore ideas relating to the form, function, artistic elements, and interpretative design of Point State Park’s Portal Bridge.

Displays of all five concepts can also be viewed in person at the following locations:

November 2011: SPRINGBOARD Design, 24 Terminal Way, Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Hours: Open 9am to 5pm weekdays
Early December 2011: Fort Pitt Museum, located in historic Point State Park in downtown Pittsburgh
Hours: Open 10am to 5pm daily
Late December 2011 to Early January 2012: Heinz History Center, 1212 Smallman Street, Pittsburgh
Hours: Open 10am to 5pm daily

“The portal bridge is a blank canvas that represents a fantastic opportunity for Pittsburgh,” said Davitt Woodwell, executive vice president for the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. “We often can’t see the forest for the trees when we look at something every day, but letting these design teams imagine what the portal bridge could be is a great way to begin a conversation about the future in terms we’ve never thought of before.”

The five teams selected were:

Marlon Blackwell Architect, Fayetteville, AR
Marlon Blackwell; Kendall Buster; Guy Nordenson & Associates; dlandstudio; Renfro Design Group
MAYA Design, Pittsburgh, PA
Dutch MacDonald; The Gray Circle
SCAPE / LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE, New York, NY
Kate Orff; The Living
Weiss/Manfredi, New York, NY
Marion Weiss, Michael Manfredi; Magnusson Klemencic Associates; Green Shield Ecology;
Mark Dion
wHY Architecture, Culver City, CA
Kulupat Yantrasast; Reed Hilderbrand; WET Design

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

The Pennsylvania Environmental Council is a statewide organization that brings people, government and business together to find real world solutions for environmental challenges. These solutions bring about sustainable communities, protect our water resources, and address energy and climate issues. The Council was founded in 1970 and serves the entire state through offices in Meadville, Luzerne, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia.

For more information, visit www.pecpa.org.

About SPRINGBOARD Design

Founded in 2001 by Architect Paul Rosenblatt AIA, SPRINGBOARD is an award-winning nationwide architectural firm that has developed a reputation for excellence. SPRINGBOARD’s museum architecture, exhibition design and cultural facility planning are especially noteworthy. The hallmark of SPRINGBOARD projects is user interaction – SPRINGBOARD buildings and environments are truly engaging, fun, and exciting.

For more information, visit www.springboarddesign.net.