Corning Incorporated required a 200-foot-long by 11 foot wide bridge to take pedestrians from a large 1,000 car garage and a parking lot to the Corning campus across the main boulevard. An enclosed structure was required due to inclement weather. The company also wanted to have a 4,500-square-foot visitors’ pavilion to provide orientation, service facilities, and a shuttle stop for the headquarters.
The resulting design for the 3,600-square-foot elongated pedestrian structure comprised an 11-foot-square Vierendeel truss which was the largest size that could accommodate pedestrians. Horizontal mullions of the curtain wall further reinforced the long linear thrust of the bridge, which was cantilevered at one end.
While this bridge was not an engineering feat like long span bridges held together with threads of steel, the pristine and elegant manipulation of glass concealing the Vierendeel truss for the bridge was impressive.
