Miguel Rosales

Miguel Rosales (born 1961 in Guatemala) is president and principal designer of Rosales + Partners, a transportation architecture and bridge design firm based in Boston, Massachusetts. He is an architect specialized in bridge aesthetics and design, with more than 30 years of experience in urban design and bridge architecture. Some examples of these bridges include; Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Christina and John Markey Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, and Liberty Bridge at Falls Park on the Reedy River.

Early life and education

Rosales was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he received a degree in architecture at the Universidad Francisco Marroquin. In 1985, he enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study Urban and Environmental Design, obtaining a SMArchS (Master of Science in Architecture Studies) degree in 1987. He later completed engineering studies related to bridge design when he received grants from MIT to study Swiss bridges, from the AIA/American Architecture Foundation to study Swiss and Spanish bridge structure, and from the National Endowment for the Arts to study Infrastructure Design for the Future. As part of the grants' activities he visited the following cities in the late 1990s to conduct research and documentation related to transportation and bridge design: Barcelona, Spain; Zurich, Switzerland, and Seattle, Washington.

Career

Rosales' career has largely been dedicated to bridge and infrastructure design in the United States. He initially worked with pioneering Swiss engineer and bridge designer Christian Menn, and from 1988 to 1996, Rosales served as the lead architect and urban designer for the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge over the Charles River. This highly-visible structure is part of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, informally called "The Big Dig". During his tenure at this high-profile project, he mainly focused in improving the appearance of the highways and bridges as part of the multi-billion project that helped transformed downtown Boston by removing an elevated highway and by opening access to the harbor.

In 1997, he started his own independent architecture and engineering professional practice, Rosales + Partners, in Boston. Soon after the formation of his firm, he was involved in the design of three award-winning bridge projects: Liberty Bridge at Falls Park on the Reedy in Greenville, South Carolina, completed in 2004, Puente Centenario, over the Panama Canal, Panama, completed in 2004 and Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge over the Potomac River in Washington DC, completed in 2008. These bridges have received multiple awards and widespread recognition.

Recently completed projects include the Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge over the Trinity River in Fort Worth, Texas, completed in 2012, the Christina and John Markey Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, completed in 2013, the Moody Pedestrian Bridge, completed in 2016 in Austin Texas and the Frances Appleton Pedestrian Bridge and Longfellow Bridge Restoration completed in 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts.

Personal life

Rosales lives on Mount Vernon Street in the historic Beacon Hill Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston, not far from the Zakim Bridge, the Longfellow Bridge, the Appleton Pedestrian Bridge and several other bridges he has designed. He is active in the Beacon Hill neighborhood civic activities. Working together with the Beacon Hill Garden Club of which he is a Board member and the Boston Parks and Recreation Department, Rosales and his husband John Corey helped to fund and recruit volunteers to install protective iron tree guards and decorative plantings around tree pits in the sidewalks of Charles Street in 2013, the main thoroughfare of Beacon Hill. Rosales and Corey were originally inspired in 2009 by a visit to Jermyn Street in London, England, famous for its fashionable men's wear shops and other retail stores. In 2016, Rosales was appointed by Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh as a full member of the Beacon Hill Architectural Commission and in 2019 he became the Chair of the Commission. The Commission reviews and approves all new exterior work visible from a public way in the historic Beacon Hill District which was designated in 1955.

Recognition

Miguel Rosales has received international recognition for his iconic bridge aesthetic and designs. Some of the awards he has received are for the following bridges: Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, Liberty Bridge, I-235 Pedestrian Bridge, Puente Centenario, Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. Earlier in his career, Rosales received the P/A Young Architects Award in 1993, published in Progressive Architecture. In 1993, he received an AIA Urban Design Award of Excellence, for his "Plan for Charles River Crossing/Interchange, Central Artery/ Tunnel Project".

• 2018 The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), National Award Winner – Movable Bridge. Gut Bridge, South Bristol, ME
• 2017 Waterfront Award for Excellence on the Waterfront in the park/walkway/recreational category. Winner: Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Fort Worth, TX
• 2017 Bridge Design & Engineering magazine - footbridge awards announced at Berlin conference. Winner: historic renovation or reuse, Como Park Footbridge, Saint Paul, MN
• 2016 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Texas & Louisiana, Small Project Award of Merit: Moody Pedestrian Bridge, University of Texas, Austin, TX
• 2015 Rudy Bruner Award, Silver Medalist for parks and open spaces: Liberty Bridge and Falls Park on the Reedy, Greenville, SC
• 2014 The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Award Winner – Special Purpose Bridge - Christina and John Markey Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, Revere, MA
• 2009 The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Award Winner – Movable Bridge. Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge, Washington, DC
• 2013 American Road and Transportation Builders Association. Transportation Development Foundation Globe Award, Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Fort Worth, TX
• 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards - Eminent Conceptor, American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas, Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Fort Worth, TX
• 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards - Gold Medal in Structural Systems, American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas, Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Fort Worth, TX
• 2013 Engineering News-Record (ENR) Texas & Louisiana Best Project Award for Small Projects (Under $10 Million), Phyllis J. Tilley Memorial Bridge, Fort Worth, TX
• 2008 ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, Washington, DC
• 2006 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Merit Award. American Society of Civil Engineers for the Liberty Bridge, Greenville, SC
• 2006 Federal Highway Administration Merit Award for Pedestrian Bridges over I-235, Des Moines, IA
• 2005 International Footbridge Award in the aesthetics category (medium span), awarded in Venice, Italy for the Liberty Bridge, Greenville, South Carolina.
• 2005 Award. The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Award Winner – Pedestrian Bridge, Special Purpose. Liberty Bridge, Greenville, SC
• 2005 Arthur G. Hayden Medal for a single recent outstanding achievement in bridge engineering demonstrating innovation in special use bridges for the Liberty Bridge, Greenville, SC
• 2005 American Segmental Bridge Institute Award of Excellence for Puente Centenario, Panama Canal, Panama.
• 2004 ASCE Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award for the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston, MA
• 2003 George S. Richardson Medal for outstanding achievement in bridge engineering for the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston, MA
• 2003 Award. The National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) and the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) National Award Winner – Cable Stayed, Major Span. Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston, MA
• 2002 Move Massachusetts Design Award as the Lead Architect and Urban Designer for the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge, Boston, MA

Text imported from Wikipedia article "Miguel Rosales" and modified on 22 July 2019 under the CC-BY-SA 3.0 license.