Project Description
The RDG Dahlquist Art Studio (now known as The Art Studio at RDG Planning & Design) uses “portals” or vertical elements to create a gateway to the Des Moines River Bridge. Designed as symbols that speak to the geology of the environment, echoing the cutting and slicing of nature that forms the river valley. When seen from a distance, the elements become a destination icon that brackets the experience of crossing the river on this expansive trail bridge. Scale is one of the most important elements to the integration of these sculptural features: they relate in size not only to the length of the span (more than 2,300 feet across the river), but also to the height above the river valley, represented by massive columns, some nearly 130 feet tall. These icons focus the trail visually and set up the concept of entering a mine. Seams of coal appear in lighted veins in the stacked forms on the bridge landings. One is inside the story, surrounded by the sculptural forms that embody history and geology, while the changing geometry of the steel cribbing radiates around users. The viewer moves along the path as though moving through history, through the tunnel of a mine. Blue LED fixtures highlight the inside faces of each crib.