DONALD MACDONALD
1516 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA
94104, USA
Donald MacDonald Architects LLC
DONALD MACDONALD
1516 Folsom St.
San Francisco, CA
94104, USA
Donald is Principal in Charge and Principal Designer on all Donald MacDonald Architects, LLP projects. With over 40 years of architecture experience, Donald brings expertise in all facets of bridge design, including conceptual planning, architectural enhancements, transportation operations, public participation, landscaping, and environmental studies. He has a record of successful collaboration with bridge engineers and other technical professionals on complex, award-winning signature bridges, such as the design-build of the $750 million Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, SC; the 524-meter Tilikum Crossing Bridge in Portland, OR, and the $6.2 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project.
MacDonald graduated from Columbia University, and during his career, has won just under 200 international, national, and regional awards for architectural design. He lectures on architectural design worldwide and holds an AIA Fellowship in design.
The American School Archive, part of the University of Oklahoma (OU) Libraries’ Western History Collection, recently acquired the Donald MacDonald Collection, including thousands of items representing his life’s work.
Learn more about Don’s practice here.
With 18 years of Bridge design experience, Eric provides bridge aesthetics and design leadership, working in close collaboration with engineering partners. During his career, Eric has led the design of over 30 signature bridges, including the three-arch concept for the $1 billion Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge and the $38 million Northgate Pedestrian Bridge. His design work on bridge design, industrial design, and transportation and high-rise architecture has brought international awards and acclaim.
Steve brings more than 35 years of project and design management experience in transportation, transit, and major urban infrastructure projects. He has an extensive background as an innovative project leader with international experience in directing and managing complex multi-disciplinary projects from initial inception stages through final design and construction.
Donald MacDonald, owner, and Principal of Donald MacDonald Architects, LLP is an award-winning architect with over 40 years of architecture experience. Donald has expertise in many facets of bridge design, including conceptual planning, architectural enhancements, transportation operations, public participation, landscaping, and environmental studies. He has a record of successful collaboration with bridge engineers and other technical professionals on complex, award-winning signature bridges, such as the design-build of the $750 million Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge in Charleston, SC; the 524-meter Tilikum Crossing Bridge in Portland, OR, and the $6.2 billion San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge project.
MacDonald graduated from Columbia University, and during his career, has won just under 200 international, national, and regional awards for architectural design. He lectures on architectural design worldwide and holds an AIA Fellowship in design.
With over 18 years of design experience, Eric Birkhauser is a Principal at Donald MacDonald Architects and bridge aesthetics lead. During his career, Eric has led the design of over 30 signature bridges, winning numerous awards for his work on bridges as well as transportation and high rise architecture. In their partnership, Eric works closely with Donald, carrying forward his unique strategies and principles in design. Eric shares a love of bridge design and has a deep respect and appreciation of Donald’s work sharing the same vision, values, and commitment to design excellence. Eric’s combined undergraduate training in Ecological Design at the College of the Atlantic and Masters in Architecture at the University of Oregon allows for his unique holistic approach to resilience and regenerative design.
Steve brings more than 35 years of project and design management experience in transportation, transit, and major urban infrastructure projects. He has an extensive background as an innovative project leader with international experience in directing and managing complex multi-disciplinary projects from initial inception stages through final design and construction.
In 1966, Donald MacDonald Bridge Architects (DMD) established North America’s most widely recognized and award-winning bridge architecture design firm. Today, Donald MacDonald Bridge Architects, LLP continues this design excellence through a partnership with VIA – A Perkins Eastman Studio, with a team focused on bridge designs that are emblematic of the people and places they serve. Operating as one office, this next-generation partnership offers a depth of resources and skills in locations across the United States and Canada.
Our Practice Focuses on Bridge Architecture and Aesthetics
Our Practice Focuses on Connecting Communities
Bridges are civic art, community connectors, and cultural attractions as much as they are about functional urban infrastructure. We work with our teams to elevate people’s experience both using bridges and when viewing them from afar. What we do:
We have a long track record working with world-class cities, engineering partners, and public agencies to navigate complex regulatory, entitlement, and public engagement processes for major infrastructure works. Our solutions provide for vehicular and non-motorized access, universal design and accessibility, respond to local context; and comprise the latest technical solutions, sustainability and innovation.
Portland, Oregon’s innovative and distinctive landmark, Tilikum Crossing, is the first major bridge in the U.S, carrying trains, buses, streetcars, bicycles, and pedestrians- but no private automobiles. When regional transportation agency TriMet began planning for the first bridge to be constructed across the Willamette River since 1973, the goal was to build something symbolic, which would represent the progressive nature of the Twenty-First Century. In this book, the award-winning architect of Tilikum Crossing, Donald MacDonald, and co-author Ira Nadel, tell the story of Portland through its bridges. Written in a friendly voice, readers will learn how Portland came to be known as “The City of Bridges” and the home to this new icon in the city’s landscape.
An innovative landmark a quarter-century in the making, the new eastern span of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge represents the latest spectacular chapter in the history of this storied structure. The new bridge’s architect, Donald MacDonald, teams up with author Ira Nadel to create this illuminating book. With friendly text and charming illustrations, Bay Bridge reveals the design decisions that have shaped the evolution of the bridge over the last century—from the history of the original bridge, through the planning of the new span, to the construction of its signature 525-foot-high white tower. In the same elegant package as Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, this volume makes a lovely souvenir for San Francisco devotees, architecture buffs, and tourists.
Nine million people visit the Golden Gate Bridge each year, yet how many know why it’s painted that stunning shade of “international orange”? Or that ancient Mayan and Art Deco buildings influenced the design? Current bridge architect Donald MacDonald answers these questions and others in a friendly, informative look at the bridge’s engineering and 70-year history. This accessible account is accompanied by 70 of MacDonald’s own charming color illustrations, making it easy to understand how the bridge was designed and constructed. A fascinating study for those interested in architecture, design, or anyone with a soft spot for San Francisco, Golden Gate Bridge is a fitting tribute to this timeless icon.
Folsom Boulevard Bicycle and Pedestrian Overcrossing Feasibility Study Aesthetic Concepts
Video courtesy AIM Consulting
CEREMONY MARKS BEGINNING OF GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE SUICIDE WORK
A big step was taken to save lives at the Golden Gate Bridge.
Local officials gathered at the span for a ceremony at the bridge Thursday to mark the beginning of work to line both sides of the bridge with a suicide barrier.
“Where nets have been erected they’ve been incredibly effective. Nets have been installed on many bridges throughout the world over the last two decades and there’s only been one fatality at one of those installations,” Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District General Manager Denis Mulligan said.
Story courtesy ABC7 San Francisco; Image courtesy Vincent Moschetti
THE BRIDGE THAT BANS CARS
You can walk, bike, or ride a bus across Tilikum Crossing in Portland—but you can’t drive.
If you stand in the middle of the new Tilikum Crossing bridge over the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, you may see many things whiz by bikers, joggers, light-rail trains, streetcars, buses, even ospreys and bald eagles from a nearby wildlife refuge. You will not, however, see any cars.
The Tilikum, which took four years to construct, is the first long-span bridge in the United States to accommodate so many ways of getting from one side to the other while banning automobiles. The span follows—and shares certain characteristics with—a spate of high-profile pedestrian-bridge projects, including the Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge between Omaha, Nebraska, and Council Bluffs, Iowa, completed in 2008…
Story courtesy The Atlantic; Image courtesy TriMet
Miami’s notoriously crowded streets have become the road less traveled with the sweeping impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
With most businesses, stores and shops shut down and social distancing being preached and practiced, the highways and byways are seeing meager traffic in comparison with the bumper-to-bumper of not so long ago.
The governor and state transportation department see this rare unfolding event as an opportunity to speed up road construction projects, including the new Signature Bridge rising in downtown Miami…
Story courtesy Miami Today; Image courtesy of Archer Western-De Moya
MacDonald (b.1935), who was born in Canada, chose to study architecture at the University of Oklahoma after seeing a photograph of Bruce Goff’s work. He studied with Herb Greene at Oklahoma and later earned a master’s degree from Columbia University. He has said that the level of freedom he was given in Herb Greene’s design studios at OU fundamentally shaped his vision of the creative process as central to an architect’s practice.
It was MacDonald who gave the name “The American School” to the pedagogy and practice that emerged at the University of Oklahoma in the mid-century under Goff and Greene. After finishing his master’s degree, MacDonald opened his own private practice in San Francisco…
Story courtesy University of Oklahoma College of Architecture; Image courtesy of Dllu
All Awards
2016Alberta Construction Magazine (ACM), Top Projects Awards in the Civil categories for projects Under $50 Million and in Civil Design
American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Gold Award Structural Systems
American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon (ACEC-OR), Project of the Year; People’s Choice Awards
2015American Segmental Bridge Institute (ASBI), Bridge Award of Excellence
Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA), Excellence in Concrete Award
American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Grand Conceptor Award; National Grand Award
American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC-CA), Golden State Award
American Public Works Association (APWA), Public Works Project of the Year
Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), Outstanding Project Award
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Outstanding Structure Award
International Bridge Conference (IBC), George S. Richardson Medal
Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), Project of the Year
2014American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), America’s Transportation Award Grand Prize; Best Use of Innovation
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), Globe Award, Bridges (Projects > $100 Million)
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Excellence in Transportation Award, Major Structures
California Transportation Foundation (CTF), Special Recognition Award
International Road Federation (IRF), Global Road Achievement Award for Design
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), Excellence in Structural Engineering Award
Portland Cement Association (PCA), Award of Excellence
Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), Award of Excellence, Infrastructure
2013American Infrastructure Magazine, Project of the Year
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Project of the Year
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE- Region 9), Project of the Year Award
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE- San Francisco Section), Outstanding Transportation Project Award
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2012American Institute of Steel Construction, Ideas2 Awards
2011California Transportation Foundation (CTF), Project of the Year
California Greenways and Trails Foundation, Project Construction Award
2009Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, Engineering Excellence Award, Special Use Structures
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, National NCSEA Award
Tekla, North America Model Competition Award
2007California Transportation Foundation (CTF), City of Napa, Award of Excellence; Project of the Year; Highway Conventional Project of the Year
2006American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), President’s Transportation Award: Environment Category for Team Work to Reduce Impacts on Sea Turtles
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), AON Build America Award
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), East Coast Branch, Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Merit Award
Associated General Contractors of America, Palmetto Award: Engineering Excellence in the Transportation Over $10 Million Category
Community Pride of Charleston, Captain’s Pride Award for Walking/ Biking Trail
East Coast Greenway Alliance, Official Greenway Designation
Federal Highway Administration, Excellence in Highway Design Award
Roads & Bridges Magazine: International Bridge Conference, Gustav Lindenthal Medal
Roads & Bridges Magazine, Top Ten All-Time Bridges: #7
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, Award for Engineering Excellence
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Sacramento Section, Structural Engineering, Award of Excellence; Project of the Year
CELSOC, Award of Excellence; Engineering Excellence Merit Award
2005American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina, Award of Excellence
American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), National Globe Award (Environmental); PRIDE Award for Community Relations
McGraw-Hill Southeast Construction Magazine, Award of Merit; Best of 2005 Award in the Transportation
National Council of Structural Engineers Association, Merit Award
National Steel Bridge Alliance, Prize Bridge Competition Award: Major Span Category
Engineering News Record Magazine, Image of the Year
2004Art Deco Society, Award of Merit
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Award of Merit
2003Board of Napa County Landmarks, Award of Merit
Caltrans, Excellence in Transportation Award
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, Engineering Excellence Merit Award
National Steel Bridge Alliance, Award of Merit
2000Pacific Coast Builder Association, Award of Merit: Gold Nugget Awards
1998City of Redding, Urban Design Awards, 1991-1998
Northern California and Western Nevada Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, Construction Award
Portland Cement Association, Concrete Bridge Award
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All Awards
2016American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Gold Award Structural Systems
American Council of Engineering Companies of Oregon (ACEC-OR), Project of the Year; People’s Choice Awards
2015American Segmental Bridge Institute (ASBI), Bridge Award of Excellence
Oregon Concrete & Aggregate Producers Association (OCAPA), Excellence in Concrete Award
American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), Grand Conceptor Award; National Grand Award
American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC-CA), Golden State Award
American Public Works Association (APWA), Public Works Project of the Year
Deep Foundations Institute (DFI), Outstanding Project Award
International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering (IABSE), Outstanding Structure Award
International Bridge Conference (IBC), George S. Richardson Medal
Post-Tensioning Institute (PTI), Project of the Year
2014American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), America’s Transportation Award Grand Prize; Best Use of Innovation
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), Globe Award, Bridges (Projects > $100 Million)
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Excellence in Transportation Award, Major Structures
California Transportation Foundation (CTF), Special Recognition Award
International Road Federation (IRF), Global Road Achievement Award for Design
National Council of Structural Engineers Associations (NCSEA), Excellence in Structural Engineering Award
Portland Cement Association (PCA), Award of Excellence
Structural Engineers Association of California (SEAOC), Award of Excellence, Infrastructure
2013American Infrastructure Magazine, Project of the Year
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Project of the Year
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE- Region 9), Project of the Year Award
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE- San Francisco Section), Outstanding Transportation Project Award
2012American Institute of Steel Construction, Ideas2 Awards
2011California Transportation Foundation (CTF), Project of the Year
California Greenways and Trails Foundation, Project Construction Award
2009Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, Engineering Excellence Award, Special Use Structures
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, National NCSEA Award
Tekla, North America Model Competition Award
2007California Transportation Foundation (CTF), City of Napa, Award of Excellence; Project of the Year; Highway Conventional Project of the Year
2006American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), President’s Transportation Award: Environment Category for Team Work to Reduce Impacts on Sea Turtles
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), AON Build America Award
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), East Coast Branch, Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Merit Award
Associated General Contractors of America, Palmetto Award: Engineering Excellence in the Transportation Over $10 Million Category
Community Pride of Charleston, Captain’s Pride Award for Walking/ Biking Trail
East Coast Greenway Alliance, Official Greenway Designation
Federal Highway Administration, Excellence in Highway Design Award
Roads & Bridges Magazine: International Bridge Conference, Gustav Lindenthal Medal
Roads & Bridges Magazine, Top Ten All-Time Bridges: #7
Structural Engineers Association of Northern California, Award for Engineering Excellence
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Sacramento Section, Structural Engineering, Award of Excellence; Project of the Year
CELSOC, Award of Excellence; Engineering Excellence Merit Award
2005American Council of Engineering Companies of South Carolina, Award of Excellence
American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), National Globe Award (Environmental); PRIDE Award for Community Relations
McGraw-Hill Southeast Construction Magazine, Award of Merit; Best of 2005 Award in the Transportation
National Council of Structural Engineers Association, Merit Award
National Steel Bridge Alliance, Prize Bridge Competition Award: Major Span Category
Engineering News Record Magazine, Image of the Year
2004Art Deco Society, Award of Merit
Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), Award of Merit
2003Board of Napa County Landmarks, Award of Merit
Caltrans, Excellence in Transportation Award
Consulting Engineers and Land Surveyors of California, Engineering Excellence Merit Award
National Steel Bridge Alliance, Award of Merit
2000Pacific Coast Builder Association, Award of Merit: Gold Nugget Awards
1998City of Redding, Urban Design Awards, 1991-1998
Northern California and Western Nevada Chapter of the American Concrete Institute, Construction Award
Portland Cement Association, Concrete Bridge Award
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