Storia Delta

The Storia Delta installation, a pedestrian and interpretive bridge integrated into the Lafitte Greenway in New Orleans, is a civic landmark that merges storytelling, public art, and community space. Conceived as a place where residents and visitors reflect on the city’s relationship with land, water, and climate, the structure sits in a uniquely challenging environment for steel. To withstand these harsh conditions, the design team turned to hot-dip galvanizing.

The decision to specify galvanizing was both practical and symbolic. Practically, galvanized steel provides durability, cost-effectiveness over the life of the project, and minimal maintenance requirements, all essential for an outdoor installation in a humid, chloride-laden atmosphere. Symbolically, it reinforced the project’s narrative of resilience and adaptation to water. The natural metallic finish of zinc also became part of the aesthetic, giving the installation a reflective, weathering surface that complements its civic and ecological themes. New Orleans is not a benign place for metals. Warm, humid air accelerates corrosion chemistry, while chloride exposure from nearby waterways and salt-laden breezes makes for one of the most aggressive environments in North America. In such a setting, unprotected steel would deteriorate rapidly, undermining both the structure and the civic story it is meant to carry. Engineers and fabricators accounted for local corrosion rates when specifying zinc coating thicknesses, post-treatments, and design details to ensure maximum service life. By selecting hot-dip galvanizing, the team acknowledged both the practical realities of the site and the long-term vision of the project. Galvanizing is not a set and forget solution. It requires informed specification, detailing to prevent traps or premature wear, and a maintenance plan tuned to the local climate. With these measures in place, the Storia Delta installation is equipped to deliver decades of service while preserving its aesthetic, experiential, and civic purpose. Ultimately, the project demonstrates how hot-dip galvanizing can extend beyond industrial infrastructure and into the cultural and civic realm, providing the protection and visual character necessary for art and storytelling in one of the most corrosive environments in the United States.