Overview

In this contest your challenge is to rethink a gap that exists in your community by designing a new structure or space that includes a pedestrian bridge to offer something more for the people and places it connects. We are giving away more than $50,000 in prizes to the best entries!

A pedestrian bridge can attract attention as a significant visual feature of a landscape, or it can subtly blend into its surroundings. It can provide physical and visual connection across divided spaces, bridging the gap between old and new, urban and natural, struggle and opportunity, possible and impossible... 

We are excited to welcome back NFL football star James Develin who is teaming up with fellow engineering school graduate and Boston hockey star Connor Clifton to explore the spaces in between their past and present, and to imagine a better future together as designers and builders in the new "Bridging Gaps" web series:

How to get started

You may use the Dar bridge starter model linked below to incorporate into your design, or you may create your own. You should begin by selecting a specific site for the bridge in your community. It could be an existing structure or space adjacent to a natural area, an empty lot, or land occupied by abandoned or under-utilized buildings that require repair, reuse, or demolition. Your new design should connect via a pedestrian bridge to the existing structure or space. It could be constructed for special events or for permanent use. This could include landscaping; structures that provide shelter, civic space, recreation, or commercial use; or a whole new building like a school or a community center. 

Learn more about the starter model:  

In choosing the site for the bridge, you might consider what it would look like from below and from a distance, how it would feel to cross it, and what it could offer to the spaces or even nature beneath it. You might also consider how it could be embedded with technology like sensors that could collect data which might be used to gain new insights and understanding. 

Your design should: 

• Include a pedestrian-scale bridge 
• Be relevant to one or more of the following uses: 
• Strengthening civic life or social infrastructure 
• Bringing people together across lines of difference 
• Promoting a deeper relationship between humans and nature 
• Increasing accessibility and/or a sense of belonging for a user group 
• Approach the task with a real-world perspective, demonstrating skills and knowledge from one or more of the following fields: architecture, engineering, construction, and/or the skilled trades 
• Incorporate Autodesk software

Here is a model to help you get started:

Requirements:

1. Open to students ages 13-21 and currently enrolled in high school or homeschooled in the United States or Canada (excluding Quebec). 
2. All entries MUST share the entrant's grade level in the introductory step. 
3. All entries MUST incorporate Autodesk software in their design. 
4. Submissions must be entered between March 6, 2023, and July 24, 2023 (11:59pm PT). 

If you have never posted an Instructable before, please refer to the How to Write an Instructable guide for more information. 

The prizes are intended as scholarship funds to support the winners' education, such as tuition, books, room & board, transportation, or childcare. 

Entries will be judged based on the following criteria: 3D Digital Literacy and Design; Engineering Mindset; Real-world Relevance; and Presentation. Read the full contest rules for more details. 

We are giving away one $10,000 grand prize in each of the two following categories: 

• Best use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) or BIM (Building Information Modeling) tools — Show us your 3D Digital Literacy and Design Skills. 

• Best physical prototype — Show us how you can take an idea and make it real through your hands-on building skills and technical knowledge. This could be in the form of a physical scale model of your whole design or a physical mockup of a building component that is integral to your design. 

Additional prizes include: 

• $5,000 First Prizes (4)
• $1,000 Second Prizes (10)
• $50 gift cards for Runners-Up (20)

You must be 13 years of age or older to participate in this contest. Participate only with your parent or legal guardian's consent and supervision. 

You are responsible for the payment of any taxes or other costs related to receiving, claiming, or collecting any prize. If you are under the legal age of majority in your place of residence, you should discuss potential tax consequences with your parent or legal guardian prior to entering the contest. 

The Make It Bridge is closed.