News Library
THE VIRTUAL BRIDGE
Published on March 2, 2000
Author: TOM BUCKHAM
© The Buffalo News Inc.
For a detailed look at all the new Peace Bridge designs, from every possible angle, follow your curiosity to the University at Buffalo North Campus.
Starting today, in Norton Hall's Center for Computational Research, digitalized versions of eight proposals currently on the table can be scrutinized on an ImmersaDesk screen, one of the lab's many state-of-the-art features. The architects' models can even be viewed in "stereo," that is, three-dimensionally, through a high-tech version of the 3-D eyeglasses that used to be passed out in movie theaters. A demonstration Wednesday in the ground-floor center offered a sweeping panorama of the Niagara River that included models of the current Peace Bridge and the plazas at each end, and a cable suspension "superspan" angling across the river well south of the present bridge, to a plaza that would be erected east of LaSalle Park. A click of a mouse took the viewer up and over the spans to the Fort Erie, Ont., side, then down river for a look back at the bridges from the north and, finally, back upriver for the view from Lake Erie near the mouth of the Niagara. A moment later, the simulation zoomed in on the plazas, showing what would become of existing structures. By the time the public sees the virtual-reality lineup, it will include several versions of the twin bridges the Peace Bridge Authority advocates, two variations of the new southern bridge and two that would approach Buffalo north of the existing bridge. "It will be an opportunity to really look at (the proposals) in a different fashion," said Russ Miller, center director. Until now, the proposed designs were available in blueprint form only. The virtual representations were developed through a partnership among the UB Center for Computational Research, IBC Digital and the Virtual Reality Lab in UB's Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. A team of animators worked late into the night for a full month to prepare the graphics. "This is a critical step, not only for those involved in the decision-making process but for any Western New Yorker interested in the outcome of the Peace Bridge debate," said Ben Porcari, president of IBC Digital. Without the computer models, "you don't get a sense of scale or how the bridge fits into the surrounding landscape," he said. "It's very simple to say, 'This design will eliminate four blocks of houses.' It's quite another to see them just disappear before your eyes as you do in the animations." An appointment to see the virtual designs, which can be viewed by up to six people at a time, can be made by calling the center at 645-6500. Those who can't get to the mini-theater at Norton Hall will find still pictures and Quicktime videos of the bridge proposals at the center's Web site, www.ccr.buffalo.edu.JAMES P. McCOY/Buffalo News Russ Miller, director of the Center for Computational Research, left, and Associate Director Thomas Furlani use 3-D glasses to check out bridge designs while UB student Abhijeet Roy works the computer.
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