Building Rating 50% of readers like the Canoe Bridge.
Advertisement
E very town square needs a central monument. When your town square faces Vancouver's False Creek, it makes sense that the monument be a canoe. In this case, the canoe is actually a bridge in the shape of a canoe which spans Jarvis Inlet at the heart of the 2010 Winter Olympics athletes' village.
Like the rest of the village, the bridge was designed with the environment in mind. The bridge deck is made up of closely-spaced slats to let plenty of sunlight through and minimize the bridge's shadow on the water below, so that aquatic plants and creatures aren't affected by the darkness.
Though it is a simple bridge, it has many symbolic meanings. Its canoe theme ties it to the nearby non-motorized boating marina. Its open framework harkens to the days when this was an industrial shipyard, and also visually mimic the nearby Science World dome.
