What) Peace Bridge is a pedestrian bridge, designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, that accommodates both pedestrians and cyclists crossing the Bow River in Calgary. The bridge was built by The City of Calgary to connect the southern Bow River pathway and Downtown Calgary with the northern Bow River pathway and the community of Sunnyside. The bridge is reportedly used by 6000 people a day and has ranked among the top 10 architectural projects in 2012 and among the top 10 public spaces of 2012.

    The design follows strict requirements with no piers in the water (in an effort to minimize the ecological footprint) and restricted height (due to the vicinity of the City/Bow River Heliport). The bridge is a departure from Calatrava's previous designs, which were typically asymmetric shapes anchored by high masts. Another atypical element is the color; while most of Calatrava's designs are white, the Peace Bridge features red and white.

Span length: 126 meters (413 ft) Total width: 8 meters (26 ft) Total height: 5.85 meters (19.2 ft) Construction cost: $18 million (1)

    Where) Eau Claire Park near 100 La Caille Place SW

    Why) I have enjoyed viewing or visiting most of the projects that Santiago Calatrava works on so I was not going to pass up my second chance to travel across one of his bridges.

I took 12 pictures of this bridge when I was here but only two of them ended up being worthwhile. This aerial view is great but not mine. (2)

My pictures are going to be the daytime ones with cloudy skies and poor lighting.

Judging from the internet, the lights on the bridge just make it look better at night. (3)

This is my view of what it looks like as you walk over the bridge. For some reason, ...

... I was not able to capture this view which nicely showcases a series of intersecting curves. (4)

The last two images just show you what a good combination of bridge lighting, night skies and photographic techniques can accomplish. (5)

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