Grand Prize Winner
2020 Forge Prize
Footbridge
Rosannah Harding, AIA, and Matthew Ostrow, AIA
HardingOstrow
An innovative cantilevered pedestrian bridge and elevated park concept by Rosannah Harding and Matthew Ostrow of HardingOstrow took top honors at a judging event streamed live on YouTube. The pair took home the $10,000 grand prize.
Harding and Ostrow worked with fabricator STS Steel, Inc. to refine their design, which capitalizes on the aspects of steel that make it ideal for such a project with much of the structure fabricated offsite for rapid erection. The cantilevered design minimizes the structure’s footprint.
The Footbridge concept, intended for a site in Manhattan that connects to the existing High Line, marries the raw look of weathering steel with the shine of hammered stainless steel planters that hold trees and other vegetation. Stormwater runoff would drip into bespoke weathering steel bollards on the plaza below, creating an immersive visual and auditory effect in inclement weather.
“The Footbridge aims to be a significantly honest and raw structure with minimal erection time and minimal long-term maintenance,” Harding and Ostrow said. “The design capitalizes on the inherent strength of [steel] plate while expressing its thinness and creates a robust urban landmark.”
The Forge Prize would like to thank judges Matt Dumich, FAIA, of SmithGroup; Rebekah Gandy, AIA, LEED AP, of Gensler; and David Sadinsky of Turner Exhibits and Cast Connex Vice President Jennifer Anna Pazdon, PE; SteelFab, Inc. Texas Division Vice President Darren J. Cook; and STS Steel, Inc. President Glenn R. Tabolt, PE for the time they so generously devoted to this program.
Forge Prize Finalists: Phase I Winners
Twig System
Ilgar Aziz
SBLM Architects
Ilgar Aziz of SBLM Architects proposed the Twig Structural System of organically inspired, modular structural steel components that can be used as load-bearing columns or simply as art installations.
Aziz worked with Cast Connex to further develop the idea. which “moves outside of conventional methods of steel construction and proposes advantages to both shop and field work through modularization and repetition of connections,” said Cast Connex Vice President Jennifer Anna Pazdon, PE.
“Close collaboration between engineers, architects, and builders at the outset of a project leads to the best outcome,” Pazdon said. “With the Forge Prize, we're able to practice this best-practice for future realizations.”
Tallahassee Multi-Purpose Complex Housing Unit
Daphne M. Florán-Meléndez
Lockwood, Andrews, & Newnam, Inc.
Daphne M. Florán-Meléndez of Lockwood, Andrews, & Newnam, Inc. designed a pedestrian multi-purpose complex that would rejuvenate an abandoned Tallahassee site, using steel-framed housing units that are stackable so the complex can grow vertically as needed.
Florán-Meléndez worked with SteelFab, Inc. in the second stage of the competition.
“Any opportunity to work alongside architects to showcase what steel construction has to offer is great for the steel construction business as a whole,” said SteelFab, Inc. Texas Division Vice President Darren J. Cook.