la loma/foothill bridge
berkeley, california
MacDonald Architects completed design and construction for the La Loma/Foothill Bridge in August 2007. The new Foothill Bridge on the UC Berkeley campus, spans Hearst Avenue, while linking the adjacent (yet split) Foothill Student Housing Complex, coupling the two buildings into a cohesive unit. The dorms were first approved in 1988, with the bridge included in the original design.
This UC Berkeley Bridge Project lies 300 feet from the Hayward Fault and has passed through the UC Project Review Committees concerning such items as seismic safety, design, and planning.
The bridge connects the third floor of La Loma residence hall to the second floor of Hillside residence hall, also allowing students easier access to the mailboxes and study rooms in Hillside. Dorm residents are assured a safer passage across the hectic intersection at Hearst and Highland Streets.
The bridge also solves a problem of accessibility and distance. Even though the dorm has 16 wheelchair-accessible rooms, no wheelchair-using student occupied these dorms previously. Disabled students were effectively shut out of the La Loma dormitory on the north side of Hearst and were required to take a half-mile roundabout route, which is no longer the case.