架构师提供的文本描述。为纪念美国向西扩张而建造的由Eero Saarinen设计的网关拱门成为了一个未来主义的标志，它耸立在圣路易斯的城市景观之上。在它的设计中，这座纪念碑借鉴了以前具有相似愿望、规模和数学精度的象征建筑。

Text description provided by the architects. Built to commemorate the westward expansion of the United States, the Gateway Arch designed by Eero Saarinen became a futuristic marker that rose above the cityscape of St. Louis. In its design, this monument drew from previous symbolic constructs of similar aspiration, scale and mathematical precision.

悬链线是萨里宁设计的起点，是一种主要存在于压缩中的理想形式。沿着这条曲线扫描一个可变大小的三角形截面是其形式的基础。

The catenary, an ideal form that exists largely in compression, was the starting point for Saarinen’s design. Sweeping a triangular section of variable size along this curve was the basis for its form. 

然后，数学悬链线被扭曲，以增加设计的审美影响，同时仍保持其结构的表现力。

The mathmatical catenary was then distorted in order to increase aesthetic impact of the design while still maintaining its structural performitivity. 

这座拱门体现了美国纪念碑设计中数学严谨和形式简单的传统，从华盛顿特区的华盛顿纪念碑开始，同时在项目的物质和程序复杂性方面灌输了一种同时代观念。

The gateway arch preseved the tradition of mathematical rigor and formal simplicity in the design of American monuments, that began with the Washington Monument in Washington, DC, while instilling a notion of contemporaneity in the material and programmatic complexity of the project.

拱门是由钢包混凝土三角形截面组成的，这些三角形截面的形状各不相同。它的厚度从54英尺(底部)到17英尺(顶部)不等。钢板是紧密地组合在一起，以增加其结构稳定性，并提高其美学-使它看起来比它是更纤细。

The arch is comprised of steel-clad concrete triangular sections that vary from . It varies in thickness from 54ft (bottom), to 17ft (top). The steel plates are assembled very tightly against each other in order to increase its structral stability and also to increase its aesthetics—making it look even more slender than it is.

从程序上讲，萨里宁希望他的拱门也能充当观景台。

Programmatically, Saarinen wanted his arch to also act as an observation deck. 

一个复杂的电梯系统，从对角线爬到弧形拱顶，每次可容纳12人，游客可以在离地面630英尺的高空观看周围的景观。

A complex system of elevator cars that climb diagonally to the top of the curved arch carry 12 people at a time to the top where visiters can view the surrounding landscape from 630 feet above the ground. 

这些电梯车厢被设计成未来主义的吊舱，受到当时类似美学的启发。

These elevator cars were designed as futuristic pods that were inspired by the similar aesthetics of the time.

除了拱门外，该项目还试图将自己安置在杰斐逊国家扩展纪念馆的一个更大的公园内。

In addition to the arch, the project sought to situate itself within a larger park of The Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. 

该计划将历史悠久的老法院重新规划为公园的中心，位于新的门户拱门的顶端。拱门和法院的结合已经成为圣路易斯市和大区域的标志性建筑。

The plan reframed the historic Old Courthouse as the park’s center under the apex of the new Gateway Arch. The pairing of the arch and the courthouse has become iconic of both the city of St. Louis and the greater region.