When it came to outfitting a 50-foot-long pedestrian bridge at the University of Michigan, the architects didn’t have to look far for inspiration. Projecting school spirit, a giant LED wall on the side of an adjacent building led to the aesthetically pleasing and highly practical, open-weave metal mesh pattern for the walkway’s infill.
The pedestrian bridge provides access to the new Center of Excellence in Nano Mechanical Science and Engineering building, an addition to the George Granger Brown Memorial Laboratories building on North Campus in Ann Arbor, and a recently completed project by Integrated Design Solutions (IDS) and Perkins+Will. The building’s most prominent design feature is a giant LED wall that displays abstract samples of active lab work. Once IDS found its source of inspiration for the pedestrian path, however, it faced a challenge of designing a bridge that could perfectly reference that focal point.
© Curt Clayton
Mark McPartlin, design architect at IDS, recalls, “We were pushing the envelope with this design, and Banker Wire appeared to be the only company that could make it a reality. They were able to customize their product to suit our needs, and they were very easy to work with throughout the entire process.”
The LED wall features a diagonal “fold” running from one corner to another to create a one-of-a-kind textured façade. McPartlin and the project team had hoped to achieve a similar effect for the bridge, but the ambitious design required an uncommon metal mesh pattern as well as a custom framing system to ensure it would attach securely to the railings.
The resulting mesh pattern that Banker Wire fabricated for the bridge was LZ-55, a high-definition rectangular lock-crimp pattern that forms a golden rectangle. (In other words, the ratio of the longer side to the shorter forms mathematics’ golden ratio.) It’s an age-old ratio that artists, architects and designers the world over consider aesthetically pleasing, often appearing in nature in the spiral arrangement of leaves and other plants. The LZ-55 pattern provides a balance of spacing and diameter for architectural applications — for strength, along with a high percentage of open area.
© Curt Clayton
In addition to its custom mesh pattern, the bridge needed an attachment system that could achieve the desired aesthetic without compromising strength or functionality. Banker Wire proposed its Versatile Spine frame method, a three-layer laminate system where the spine is laser-cut to receive each individual wire of the wire mesh securely, then sandwiched between two outer veneer covers.
Here, the manufacturer designed an intermediate laser-cut diagonal spine to function as a set hinge at the precise angle required, allowing two separate pieces of mesh to function as one continuous panel while maintaining the desired angle shape.
“The beauty of our Versatile Spine framing strategy is that we can accommodate a creative project such as this while maintaining the structural integrity of the system,” says Michelle Eastburn, product-engineering manager at Banker Wire.
The Versatile Spine frame provides the highest level of precision in woven wire mesh framing and can be customized easily to work with a wide range of wire mesh specifications while remaining strong. “We were struggling to find a clean way to attach the material to the bridge structure, and we were extremely pleased at how we were able to work together with Banker to overcome this challenge,” McPartlin says.
The result is an elegant, structurally sound bridge that complements the LED wall and the overall design of the new building on campus. Ultimately, it provides a more recognizable on-campus presence for the College of Engineering’s new $46-million, 62,880-square-foot home.
The project team included owner University of Michigan; architect of record Perkins+Will, New York; design architect Integrated Design Solutions; general contractor DeMaria; and fabricator Kirby Steel.
Banker Wire is the world’s leading manufacturer of woven and welded wire mesh for architectural and industrial applications. With the most modern and productive mill in the U.S., Banker Wire provides custom-weave materials for any aesthetic on any scale — from intricate design accents to expansive building façades.
