The Lone Tree Pedestrian Bridge shares the name of the Colorado city it rises in and connects Lone Tree’s south and north sides. More than a bridge, Denver’s Fentress Architects imagined the anchoring structure as an instantly recognizable icon, and drew upon the city’s leaf emblem to create a distinctive 80-foot-tall, 100-ton white steel pylon.

The 170-foot-long pedestrian bridge crosses the city’s busiest street, Lincoln Avenue, and is supported by six cables that branch off from the “leaf,” creating an effect reminiscent of Santiago Calatrava’s elegant cable-stay infrastructure projects. The bridge itself is surrounded with an open metal mesh and is topped with an ETFE canopy to protect pedestrians from the weather while still allowing sunlight to pass through. Soft lighting was also installed to allow for the structure’s use at night.

Access to the pylon and bridge is accomplished by a series of spiraling ramps on both sides. The project was especially important for the community, according to Fentress, because although 90,000 cars pass through Lincoln Avenue daily, there had previously been no way for residents to easily cross the major arterial. The project was completed in June 2018 and now occupies a previously unfilled roll in connecting biking and walking trails throughout the Denver Metro area.

Earlier this week on September 10, the Lone Tree Pedestrian Bridge was named a recipient of the Chicago Athenaeum’s 2019 American Architecture Awards. All of the winners will be honored at an awards gala on October 10.