The Verrazano Narrows Bridge
Othmar Ammann’s Greatest Work of Structural Art
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THESIS
In designing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge,
Othmar Ammann created his greatest work of
structural art, combining elegance and
simplicity over a huge span, with important
social and symbolic roles.
SCIENTIFIC ASPECTS
•Steel cable suspension bridge
•Length: 4260 ft.
•Height: 690 ft.
•Deck thickness ratio: 1/180
•SimpleQuickTime™
stiffening
and adeck truss
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• Caisson construction used to
build towers
• Each leg of tower stands on 33
foot concrete pier, which
remains low profile
• Towers designed slightly further
apart at the top than at the
bottom, due to the curvature of
the earth
• Towers exhibit simple, clean
design
– Only one cross-pieces at the top of
the towers, no ambiguity
Massive concrete-housed cable anchorages on either side of bridge
-Not only connect the cables to the ground,
but are used to store and heat
salt and cinders for icy
conditions.
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SOCIAL ASPECTS
Three S’s: Social
•12-lane, two level bridge (huge traffic volume)
•Large trucking route connecting NJ to Long Island
•Provides more efficient travel route through New York City
•Facilitated development of Staten Island
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•Increased business TIFF
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•Created a vast number of new jobs on either side, effectively
starting a Verrazano Bridge industry
SYMBOLIC ASPECTS
• Longest bridge in North America
• Same impact on Staten Island as Brooklyn Bridge had on
Brooklyn
• Exceptional slenderness for its length while still appearing
monumental
• Frames entrance to New York Harbor
• Opening of bridge celebrated with parades, parties, and an
opening ceremony with thousands in attendance
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Framing the entrance to New York, showing
its sleekness
Comparison with Golden Gate
• Towers exhibit
architectural quantities,
ambiguous load path due
to the four lateral elements
• Original deck of Golden
Gate not stiff enough,
lateral bracing had to be
added later, and the top
deck had to be replaced
altogether
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Comparison to George Washington Bridge, also by Ammann
•GW seems bulkier, not sleek
•Originally designed for stone
cladding, current design seems
either incomplete, or too busy
•Original deck also not stiff
enough: present trusswork
added later
•Verrazano nearly twice as long,
while considerably more slender
and better at resisting forces
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