Client: City of Santa Fe Arts Commission

Overview

The Camino Alire Bridge project was a design commission sponsored by the City of Santa Fe Arts Commission and the City’s Engineering Department – Santa Fe, NM. I coordinated the custom steel rail and stone façade designs with Wilson & Company Engineering, Albuquerque, NM and the decorative rail was fabricated by Pace Metals, Albuquerque, NM.

The design for the railing was based on a corn plant to commemorate the Native American and Spanish families who farmed that area of the Santa Fe river.
256’ of custom rail – 32 – 7’ x 9’ panels

Goals

The City of Santa Fe’s Engineering Department decided that when they were replacing the deteriorating Camino Alire Bridge they would include artistic features in the upgrade. I was hired by the City’s Public Art Commission as a designer to create a bridge rail design that would resonate with the neighborhood. Because the bridge is used by vehicles, pedestrians and bikes the rail had to meet traffic rail requirements which determined the scale and scope of how the railing was built. The decorative features had to fit within those specifications. Members of the neighborhood association also requested that stone be integrated so I designed the arched stone façade to coordinate with the decorative rail.

Process

The Camino Alire Bridge project was a collaboration between myself and individuals in the City of Santa Fe’s Engineering Department, the Public Art Commission, Wilson & Company Engineering, Pace Metals, and A.S. Horner the construction company that installed the new bridge. Also very critical to the project were members of the La Joya Neighborhood Association and longtime residents whom I interviewed and met with in person to discuss the history and nuances of their neighborhood and how they wanted to be represented via the bridge design.

Additional Information

I also designed the two stucco and cement block end cap features for the bridge which were to be used for future custom tile or mural designs.