RIO GRANDE CANOPY

Location: Salt Lake City, Utah

Year: 2012

Client: State of Utah Division of Facilities Construction & Management

About:

The Rio Grande Canopy is a project done with the State of Utah’s Division of Facilities Construction and Management. This project was a solution to a specific problem. The historic Rio Grande building in downtown Salt Lake City in connected on the south to the State Archives building. The walkway between the two buildings is located such that snow and ice from the Rio Grande building falls onto the path. This canopy is designed to deflect falling snow away from pedestrians. Because the pathway is neither straight nor of a constant width, the canopy was designed to follow the curve of the path. It became necessary to work closely with manufacturers, fabrication shops and engineers to design the canopy to fit within the tight budget. In order to maintain light on the pathway and eliminate the need for artificial lighting, the roof is made of translucent acrylic panels. Roof drains were also eliminated as water is shed off into the adjacent rock bed. The design was optimized to reduce waste and on site fabrication time.