Building Know-How: Skybridge

JDS documents the feats of engineering and planning that helped the skybridge take shape.

“Building Know-How: Skybridge” is the latest in a series of videos documenting the construction of JDS’s innovative residential projects, giving viewers an in-depth look at how the firm approaches design and building. This piece introduces the skybridge at 626 First Avenue in New York City, and explains the feats of engineering and planning that helped it take shape. The skybridge is the connection point between the two gleaming copper towers that look as though they’ve been caught in mid-dance. A temporary rope bridge was used while the skybridge was being built, allowing workers to access every bolt hole and weld in the massive structure. The skybridge is as practical as it is impressive: in addition to housing the towers’ shared fitness center, it allows for the transfer of electricity and condenser water between the two buildings.