Calgary’s Peace Bridge receives special architectural honour

An international architecture publication has ranked Calgary’s Peace Bridge as one of the world’s top ten public spaces of 2012.

The structure was ranked number six by designboom, an online magazine considered to be one of the largest independent publications dedicated to architecture and design, with 4.2 million monthly readers around the world.

Gordon Stewart, Director of The City’s Transportation Infrastructure, said the bridge has earned a special place in many people’s hearts.

“The intent was to build a functional bridge for pedestrians and cyclists that would be special for Calgary and become a piece of infrastructure recognized around the world,” he said.

Being rated among the world’s top designs of 2012 is a special honour for the Peace Bridge, along with other infrastructure projects from Columbia, The Netherlands, Spain, Singapore, Thailand and Denmark

In introducing the 2012 top ten designs, designboom states that “public architecture has the unique position - and almost necessity - to be inherently entwined within its context and impact a larger population usually performing perfunctory daily tasks, such as walking to the store or relaxing at a park.”

The Peace Bridge was designed by award-winning architect and bridge designer Santiago Calatrava, commissioned by The City of Calgary and built by Graham Infrastructure.

A Calgary photographer, Neil Zeller (neilzellerphotography.com) has developed a calendar featuring various images of the Peace Bridge.