Winners of the first stage of the competition to redesign three key sections of the National Mall— Union Square in front of the Capitol building, the grounds of the Washington Monument at Sylvan Theater, and Constitution Gardens between the two buildings of the National Gallery of Art—have been selected and now will prepare for stage two. Each of the 15 teams chosen as finalists by the jury is made up of architects and landscape architects from two firms, for a total of 30 firms making it through the first stage of the competition. The next step for the finalists is the selection of engineers and other designers to form complete design teams. Those teams will be interviewed by members of the Trust for the National Mall and National Park Service (NPS) representatives to determine which groups will advance to the final part of the competition. Stage three kicks off at the beginning of 2012, when the final teams will perform site visits and submit their design ideas.
The jury—composed mostly of architects, landscape architects, and professors—reviewed 1,200 entries from 30 states and 10 countries. The jurors met for three days to evaluate the entrants’ “past design performance, philosophy, design intent, thoughtfulness, creativity, and overall resume ,” according to a release from the trust. In the end, six teams were chosen as finalists for each site, with three teams earning a spot on more than one site list. Interviews will be completed and the short list of teams moving on to the third and final stage will be announced Dec. 15. Those finalists must present design concepts, which will be placed on public display, for their sites by March 30, 2012. Winning designs will be announced May 3. The restoration project is estimated to cost about $700 million, which will be paid for by the trust and the NPS.
Read through the list of stage one finalists below or read more about the competition.
Stage One Finalists
Finalists for Union Square:
Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Hood Design
Elizabeth Diller | Lead Architect
Walter Hood | Lead Landscape Architect
Gustafson Guthrie Nichol with AEDAS
Kathryn Gustafson, FLA, ASLA, Hon RDI | Lead Landscape Architect
Carl F. Krebs, AIA | Lead Architect
Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects with Workshop: Ken Smith Landscape Architect
Henry N. Cobb, FAIA | Lead Architect
Ken Smith, ASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Reed Hilderbrand with Chan Krieger NBBJ
Gary R. Hilderbrand, FASLA, FAAR | Lead Landscape Architect
Alex Krieger, FAIA | Lead Architect
Rogers Marvel Architects with PWP Landscape Architecture
Robert M. Rogers, FAIA | Lead Architect
Jonathan M. Marvel, AIA | Lead Architect
Peter Walker, FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Snohetta with AECOM
Craig Dykers, AIA, siv. ark. MNAL, FRIBA, LEED AP | Lead Architect
Roger Courtenay, FASLA, LEED AP | Lead Landscape Architect
Finalists for Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds:
Balmori Associates with Work Architecture Company
Diana Balmori | Lead Landscape Architect
Amale Andraos | Lead Architect
Dan Wood, AIA, LEED | Lead Architect
Diller Scofidio + Renfro with Hood Design
Elizabeth Diller | Lead Architect
Walter Hood | Lead Landscape Architect
Handel Architects with W Architecture and Landscape Architecture
Michael Arad, AIA, LEED AP | Lead Architect
Barbara Wilks, FASLA, FAIA | Lead Landscape Architect
Michael Maltzan Architecture with Tom Leader Studio
Michael T. Maltzan, FAIA | Lead Architect
Tom Leader, ASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
OLIN with Weiss/Manfredi
Skip Graffam, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP | Lead Landscape Architect
Marion Weiss, AIA | Lead Architect
Ten Arquitectos with Andrea Cochran Landscape Architects
Enrique Norten, Hon. FAIA | Lead Architect
Andrea Cochran, FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Finalists for Constitution Gardens:
Andropogon & Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Jose M. Alminana, RLA, FASLA, LEED AP | Lead Landscape Architect
Frank W. Grauman, RA, FAIA, LEED AP | Lead Architect
Lee and Associates with Arthur Cotton Moore/Associates
Jeff S. Lee, FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Arthur Cotton Moore, FAIA | Lead Architect
McKissack & McKissack with Oehme Van Sweden
Ronald A. Kessler, AIA | Lead Architect
Sheila A. Brady, FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architect with Paul Murdoch Architects
Warren T. Byrd Jr., FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
Paul Murdoch, AIA, LEED AP | Lead Architect
OLIN with Weiss/Manfredi
Skip Graffam, RLA, ASLA, LEED AP | Lead Landscape Architect
Marion Weiss, AIA | Lead Architect
Rogers Marvel Architects with PWP Landscape Architecture
Robert M. Rogers, FAIA | Lead Architect
Jonathan M. Marvel, AIA | Lead Architect
Peter Walker, FASLA | Lead Landscape Architect
