LMN Architects has built a viewpoint on top of the concrete and weathering steel New Grand Avenue Park Bridge in Everett, Washington.
The asymmetrical bridge spans a railway and a road, projecting from a hillside at one end and meeting a concrete tower at the other.
The bridge connects the park and the waterfront
Seattle-based LMN Architects designed the 257-foot-long (78 metre) bridge to doubles as a viewing platform that frames views of the sunset over the waterfront.
Visitors can now cross between the historic Grand Avenue Park and the sea, easily traversing an 80-foot (24 metre) drop, freight rail tracks and a five-lane highway.
New Grand Avenue Park Bridge spans a road and railway
The truss form of the bridge is designed to echo traditional railway architecture across the Pacific Northwest. Made from weathering steel, the beams will naturally rust over time to form a protective layer and make the bridge easier to maintain.
Weathering steel beams evoke railway architecture of the Pacific Northwest
A guardrail made from 400 perforated steel panels contrasts with the weathering steel. Designed to act as a wayfinding tool for pedestrians, the steel screen is covered in intricate geometric patterns that throw patterns of light and shade onto the walkways.
The architects used a computer script to generate the pattern and automate the layout of the panels for cutting with the fabricator's CNC machine, after testing the process in-house.

"LMN's experimentation with our...