Structural engineering · making
A ten-foot bridge at COSMOS
Designing and constructing an arched truss bridge as a team.
UC Irvine COSMOS
At a glance
- Ten-foot arched truss bridge
- Team design and construction
- Sustainable infrastructure program
Overview
The question behind the work.
The scale of the bridge made every drawing feel different once construction began. Our team had to translate an arched truss concept into parts that could actually be measured, joined, adjusted, and assembled.
This page is intentionally concise until the design rationale, material choices, testing process, and individual roles are confirmed.
Process
How it took shape.
Specific methods and outcomes are included only where the supplied information supports them.
- 01
Design for forces—and for assembly
The structure needed a coherent load path, but it also had to be buildable by our team with the tools, material, and time available.
- 02
Build at full scale
Small inaccuracies become visible across ten feet. Construction made alignment, repeatability, and communication part of the engineering problem.
Photo story & artifacts
Evidence from the process.
Outcome & reflection
The strongest story here is the build itself. With photographs now anchoring the sequence, the page can continue to document the choices and corrections that turned a design into a structure.