Bay Bridge House Student Design Competition

The Oakland span of the Bay Bridge is about to be demolished and a piece of the Bay Area history will be gone forever. Bay Bridge House, a community supported project, plans to acquire pieces of the span to create a modern contemporary Eco friendly and self sustaining house and multi-use space.

BBH is holding a design competition between students in school for Design and Architecture to come up with the most unique design of the “Bay Bridge House”.

The project plans to build one of the most advanced eco sustainable houses to date, using recycled pieces of the bridge as the structure of the building. We are looking for creative out of the box designs that preserves the historic look and some design elements of the Bridge. Concrete, steel and glass, we do not intend to use any wood and plaster as a building material. The designs must utilize as much of the old bay bridge in the design as possible. This includes trusses, steel I-beams, steel girders, steel plates, wires, gates, fencing, ladders, walkways, concrete, and any other parts associated with the bridge. The location of the house will have a view of the New Bay Bridge.

The old span of the bridge is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places, we will file for Historic Land Mark status for the structure once it is built. We will also file for LEED certification, please design accordingly.

Visual aids will be provided to help with your designs upon registration. We have large close up images of sections of the bridge for you to download. More information about the contest can be found here: Link to The Competition

Links to Bay Bridge Reuse and Recycling ideas

Bay Line PDF

NeighborhoodLand - cumunity group that wants to reuse bridge

Green Space ideas

Furniture made from Bay Bridge Parts

SaveTheBridge - second bridge plan

Salvaging the Bay Bridge

Design fantasies for obsolete Bay Bridge span

Bay Bridge Park - to get pieces for outdoor art in Park

Oakland Museume of CA - to get pieces for art display

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans): Halt demolition of the Bay Bridge & convert it to public green space - online petition

Organizations involved with the Bay Bridge

Bay Bridge website
CalTrans - District 4
BATA - Bay Area Toll Authority
CATC - California Transportation Commission
BCDC - San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
City of Oakland
Port of Oakland
East Bay Municipal Utility District
US coast Gard @ San Francisco Station
CHP - California Highway Patrol

Other groups, committees, organizations involved or referenced:

Oakland Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board
Oakland Heritage Alliance
California State Historic Preservation Officer
Advisory Council of Historic Preservation
San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage
San Francisco Landmark Preservation advisory board
Est Bay Regional Parks District - some salvage parts will go here
Oakland Museum of California - will house and art display
Bay Trail

Companies working on the Bridge:

CEC - California Engineering Contractors - Demolition
Silverado Contractors, Inc. - Demolition
Schnitzer Steel Industries - Recyclers of bridge scrap
SIMS metal Management - Recyclers of bridge scrap

Incredible Cement Factory Conversion in Barcelona

The cement factory conversion by Ricardo Bofill in Barcelona, Spain is one of the most interesting the Sifter has seen to date. With over 30 silos, multiple buildings and towering ceilings throughout, the space is incredibly raw and presents countless design challenges. Now a multi-purpose facility with an office, residence, exhibition space and more, this is an incredibly unique property with equally an equally dramatic landscape and views of the beautiful Barcelona. See below for full details and information on Ricardo Bofill. Enjoy!

Twistedsifter Article - 30 pics
Architect - Ricardo Bofill

C-Mine Expeditie / NU architectuuratelier

From the architect. C-tour is the winning project for the design of an underground tourist attraction within the reconversion of the old mine-complex of Winterslag in Genk. C-tour is a tour under and above the ground, with focal point on the experience, made by linking some existing subterranean mine-industry constructions with new structures and tunnels.

ArchDaily - Article
Architect - NU architectuuratelier

Belgium Water Tower Converted into Single Family Home

Located in the Belgian village of Steenokkerzeel, this 30 meter (98.4 ft) water tower was originally built between 1938 and 1941. It was in service until the 1990s and was even used as a watchtower by the Nazis when they took over Belgium in World War II.
In 2007, Bham Design Studio set forth to completely renovate and convert the former water tower into a single family home. The exterior was completely restored to its original state, while columns were repaired, joints were removed and top floor windows were enlarged.

Twisted Sifter - Article

Architects - Bham Design Studio

Links to news articles

SF Examiner - A man, a span, his quirky plan.
SFBay.ca - Man wants to upcycle bay bridge into house
Huffington Post - Man Proposes Using Old San Francisco Bay Bridge Parts To Build Eco-Friendly House
KCBS FM Radio
SF 103.7 FM Radio- Don Blie Show
SF Examiner - future of old bay bridge span remains up in the air
Death By Architecture - Bay Bridge House Student Design Competition - open to students in the Bay Area
Concord Patch - Architecture challenge unfurls on Bay Area
KPIX - 5pm news
SF Examiner - Contset to design home out of Bay Bridge pieces launched
SF Appeal - Why Send Bay Bridge Scraps To China? Contest Planned To Find Use For Them Here
Gizmodo - The two-year plan to demolish the old bay bridge
WikiPedia - San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge listing
BoingBoing - Article
American Institute of Architects, San Francisco
The American Institute of Aiarchitects
Gizmodo
Death By Architecture
Inhabitat
Academy of Art Blog and news letter
SFSU news letter
UC Berkley news letter
BauNetz
Bustler
NeigborLand
Competitionline
Europaconcorsi
ArchPaper
Illuminating Egineering Society
Kompete.com
KTSF 26
AarchitectureLinked
Wttbewerbe-aktuel
ArchIned
Boston Architectural College
Dexigner
Espacodearquitectura
SFweekly
Inhabitat
Bustler.net
SFexaminer Article
Socializarq.com
TodaysBuildings.com
DesignBoom
Wettbewerbe-aktuell.de
KGO - ABC 7 News in San Francisco

The Old Atlantic
Recycle Steel
East Bay Express
SF Examiner
SF Curbed
FastCo Design
Architizer
The Atlantic Cities
Grist
SF Gate
Skift
Inhabitat
DorNob
Smart Planet
Earth Techling
Durability and Design
ArchPaper
The Guardian
Travel Agent Central
AMM
Mercury News
Inside the Bay Area
Contra Costa Times
GizMag
Lastampa
Thrillist
SF Weekly
Jets on Green
Inside Bay Area

SF Examiner Article

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Article compliments of the SF Examiner.

Highest Resolution Photos of the old Oakland Span of the Bay Bridge

In mid August I set out to take the highest resolution photos taken of the old Oakland Span of the Bay Bridge before it is demolished. With the help of Mike Koozmin and the San Francisco Examiner, on 8/30/2013 while the bridge was closed for the preparation of the opening of the new Bay Bridge a CHP officer escorted us onto the old bridge to take photos.

The photos where taken with the following:

Phase One IQ 180 Digital Back
Hasselblad H4X Body
Hasselblad HC 35mm f3.5-f/32 Lens

Over 100 photos where shot at 80 megapixel and will be saved by the San Francisco Examiner for archival preservation.

Please contact us for potential use rights of the photos.