The SFC Bridge / Jennifer Marman, Daniel Borins and James Khamsi

Save this picture!

+ 14

Save this picture!

Text description provided by the architects. The SFC Bridge, designed by Toronto-based artists Jennifer Marman and Daniel Borins in collaboration with New York-based architect James Khamsi, demonstrates how creative collaborations can bring playful and unprecedented experiences to urban infrastructure. Officially completed in February, 2015, the project combines public art and architecture to transform a pedestrian access point into a striking landmark.

Save this picture!

As cities collaborate with private developments to install pedestrian-friendly access in areas that are dominated by industrial and transportation infrastructure – how to make human-scale access inviting, sustainable, and vibrant is a typical problem. Marman, Borins, and Khamsi answered the challenge presented by the developers of Toronto’s Southcore Financial Centre with a design that is an energetic addition to the emerging district. The team won the commission through an international competition in 2012, and developed the project with architects of record Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects and structural engineers C2M Hill.

Save this picture!

Save this picture!

The SFC bridge is part of Toronto’s underground PATH network, that recently expanded above ground to create year-round elevated pedestrian walkways over rail lines and under raised expressways in the area south of Union Station. Connecting the new Delta Hotel to the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, the SFC Bridge offers a unique pedestrian experience in the south edge of the city’s financial district. Sloping upwards from the Delta Hotel, the bridge takes a 120-degree turn to connect with the existing Convention Centre SkyWalk (built in 1989). By virtue of circumstance the two bridges take echoing angled turns.

Save this picture!

Dark aluminum panels wrap the bridge’s exterior, following its structural trusses, to bind its integral slopes and bends. The kinetic material interplay of wrapping and binding reflects the bridge’s role in connecting disparate realms of the city. Between the bands, triangular windows cast graphic shapes of light and shadow on the bridge’s interior. Stimulating the curiosity of passersby, they frame views of the urban backdrop, offering pedestrians a dynamic visual experience while crossing the bridge.

Save this picture!

As a contemporary spin on disruptive camouflage, a digitally designed, hand-painted mural extends across the interior walls and ceiling, echoing the trapezoids, diagonals, and triangles in the bridge’s structure to produce a dynamic, multi-perspectival experience.

Save this picture!

The SFC Bridge provides an imaginative solution to pedestrian mobility by offering an experience of architecture as art to daily visitors in Toronto’s Southcore Financial District. Supported by a partnership between the City of Toronto and the PATH Network, the SFC Bridge demonstrates the innovative and transformative potential of using everyday infrastructure to showcase cutting-edge art and design.

Save this picture!