Four Mile Run Pedestrian/Cyclist Bridge

In 2009, Davood Liaghat of Buro Happold invited Yves Pages & Benoit Le Thierry d’Ennequin of Explorations Architecture and David Rubin, then partner at Olin, to enter the Northern Virginia Regional Commission’s design competition for the Four Mile Run Pedestrian/Cyclist Bridge to connect Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. The team’s entry envisions a structure that not only crosses the tributary, but is also a place – an occupiable structure from which to see and be seen. The bridge focuses on the park’s interior water edge with amphitheater seating that steps down from the central pedestrian and cycling path, so that those seated float just above the water’s elevation. And on the opposite side, a high-backed bench along the upper edge of the bridge focuses on the parade of those passing by. Four Mile Run Bridge recently completed the first quarter of its public review process.