SPF:architects' 'rumblefish' bridge to inspire community collision in LA

entitled ‘rumblefish,’ a vibrant, simply designed bike path and pedestrian bridge by SPF:architects will span 400-feet across the LA river. the project, soon to be constructed, will link elysian valley ‘frogtown’ to taylor yard, a 42 acre industrial parcel and former railyard site at the center of the city’s river revitalization plans. the bridge is playfully named in reference to the 1983 coppola film about rival gangs as a symbolic gesture to the area’s own history of gang violence. SPF:a envisions the officially-named ‘taylor yard bikeway & pedestrian bridge’ as a more peaceful community collision in los angeles, both a place of meeting and a space for quiet contemplation along the river.

all images courtesy of SPF:architects

with the design of ‘rumblefish,’ SPF:architects expresses influence from classic railway bridges and the mid-20th century los angeles case study houses. to be built with tube steel, wide flange steel, and steel rods, the geometric simplicity and deliberate structural lightness suggests that the vibrant orange bridge simply floats across the river. construction is already underway, with the project receiving its first coat of orange paint in february 2021.

designed with an uncomplicated architecture, SPF:architects’ ‘rumblefish’ visually suggests a simple box truss bridge sloping east to west. while the bridge is conceived to seemingly float overhead the LA river, even the connecting river path seems to float within the steel structure. this effect is achieved as the walkway tilts to meet the different elevations of the river banks while the exterior structure itself remains level. the track is an extension of the roads and walkways along terra firma in representation of the city’s path as it crosses the bridge — the truss is there to simply support this path in place. the project is expected to complete in june 2021.