Soleri Pedestrian Bridge Paolo Soleri		Print This Page Email This Page

Update

May 6, 2008 

The Scottsdale City Council unanimously supported the cultural destination appeal of Soleri Bridge. On Tuesday, April 22, Scottsdale City Council tentatively approved funding for the proposed Soleri Bridge and Plaza, pending final budget adoption on June 3.

The Soleri Bridge and Plaza will be a tremendous achievement for Scottsdale. Paolo Soleri is one of the Valley's most celebrated and revered cultural icons and his bridge will feature the largest bell ever cast by the famed artist. The bridge will cross the Arizona Canal west of Scottsdale Road, with a plaza on the south bank. It will connect the Scottsdale Waterfront on the north side of the canal with SouthBridge and its various retail and dining establishments.

Scottsdale Public Art is proud of the City's commitment to move forward with the project and is thrilled with the outpouring of support by local residents and council members. The Soleri Bridge will further garner Scottsdale positive coverage of its incredible arts offerings and will play a key role in the emerging Scottsdale Waterfront.

Thank you to all who recently supported this project with emails and calls.

Email the City in Support of Funding the Bridge this Year
budget@ScottsdaleAZ.gov

Description

At the request of City of Scottsdale officials and with SPA Board approval, the public art program has engaged Paolo Soleri to produce a design for a pedestrian bridge on the Arizona Canal, adjacent to Scottsdale Rd. Paolo is working with a design team in collaboration with Douglas Architecture and Planning.

Soleri envisions an engineered suspension bridge with two steel-clad, 64 foot pylons that create a light beam on the walking surface to mark solar events. The movement of the sun has been an important element in Soleri’s work; prominent here in the desert and essential to all life. In this bridge design, he calls attention to the unique and affirming connection of humans, environment, light, and architecture.

The bridge design will direct pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse riders through the plaza moving north and south along the canal system. The Sun Circle Trail – designated as part of the Arizona State Trails System in 1976 – will be highlighted across the plaza as it approaches along the southern bank of

the canal.

The plaza will offer a unique opportunity for the city in the waterfront development area of Scottsdale at the Arizona Canal. It will contain areas with seating and shade and hold a second set of pylons and a bell tower. Shallow water pools will be found at the base of the pylons softly reflecting the geometrical shapes. The plaza will be a notable gathering spot for visitors and residents and provide a pedestrian link across the Arizona canal as well as a place for ceremony and performance.

Paolo Soleri has been a resident of Scottsdale since 1956, and a student of Arizona even earlier in 1946 when he came from Italy to pursue study with Frank Lloyd Wright. Soleri has dedicated his lifelong work to experimentation in urban planning; specifically what he calls “Arcology” – architecture in accordance with ecology. Soleri’s work has been included in worldwide exhibitions and he has received fellowships from the Graham and Guggenheim Foundations as well as three honorary doctorates and numerous international medals. He was the recipient of the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.

Key Points

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Quotes About the Project

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Project Makes Recent News

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History

•  Public Meeting Fall 2007

•  Schematic Design Development though May 2007

•  Public feedback June 2005

•  SPA Board approved the preliminary concept May 11, 2004

•  Public feedback Fall 2004

•  Artist Selection May 2002

Email the Public Art Program

Donna Isaac  

Project Manager

disaac@sccarts.org

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