11th Street Bridge Park Finalists Picked, Meet the Design Teams June 10th

Rendering via 11th Street Bridge Park

From a press release:

“As part of an extraordinary nationwide design competition, the 11th Street Bridge Park is excited to announce four nationally recognized design teams have been selected to envision Washington D.C.’s first elevated public park on the foundation an old freeway bridge spanning the Anacostia River.

The public is invited on June 10 to meet the designers, who were selected by the Bridge Park’s Jury of national experts for their vision, comprehensive approach and creative energy. More than 40 teams, and 80 firms representing some of the most renowned designers in the nation, responded to an open call for submissions launched in March. Selecting the four teams furthers the goal of choosing a final design for the Bridge Park – an iconic new civic space that will provide a unique venue supporting the community’s environmental, economic, cultural and physical health.

The four teams, made up of landscape architects, architects and structural engineers, will each receive $25,000 to create full renderings and plans by September. The teams are:
• Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners / Guy Nordenson Associates
• OLIN / OMA / Arup
• Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture / Robert Silman Associates
• Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects / Magnusson Klemencic Associates
“We are thrilled with the selection of these four final teams and are excited to see their vision for this inspirational space” said Scott Kratz, 11th Street Bridge Park Director. “This is a major milestone for this project. The Jury was impressed by each team’s creative and thoughtful interdisciplinary approach. Washington D.C. was established as the nation’s first truly civic space and this new park continues in that tradition. ”

The public is invited to meet these design teams on Tuesday, June 10 from 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Representatives from each team will present examples of their work and describe their creative approach at this FREE event held at the theater on the THEARC campus, located at 1901 Mississippi Ave. SE, Washington, D.C.

After receiving formal submissions from firms across the U.S. the 11th Street Bridge Park Jury interviewed six teams selecting these final four. The Jury represents the fields of landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, community engagement and public health and includes:

• Howard Frumkin, M.D., Dr.P.H. Dean, School of Public Health, University of Washington
• Toni L. Griffin, AIA, Founding Director of the J. Max Bond Center for the Just City, Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York
• Carol Mayer Reed, FASLA, Partner in Charge of Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Mayer/Reed
• Michaele Pride, AIA, NOMA, Associate Dean for Public Outreach and Engagement, School of Architecture and Planning, University of New Mexico
• Harry Robinson III, FAIA, AICP, NOMA, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Urban Design, School of Architecture and Design, Howard University
• Patricia Zingsheim, AIA, CPM, Associate Director of Revitalization and Design, D.C. Office of Planning (Alternate Juror)

• Donald J. Stastny FAIA, FAICP, FCIP, Design Competition Advisor

Additionally, a Design Oversight Committee of experts from across the region representing the arts, environmental, design, recreation and health communities are providing pivotal feedback to the jury during the nine month-long process.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.bridgepark.org

Competition Fact Sheet
• Stage 1 – March, 2014. Call for entries open to United States based designers. Over eighty design firms representing forty-one teams submitted qualifications and essay describing their design methodology. Jury selected six landscape architect / architect teams to assemble interdisciplinary experts including a structural engineer, lighting designers and others for in-person interviews.
• Stage 2 – May, 2014. Jury selects four design teams to advance to the final stage. Each team is provided $25,000 stipend to create full design renderings that will be juried and evaluated for cost and constructability. Renderings will be displayed publicly in an exhibition at multiple locations, including the District Architecture Center, Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum and on the 11th Street Bridge Park’s website for public comment.
• Stage 3 – Mid-October, 2014. Jury selects the design team and concept design for the 11th Street Bridge Park.

About the 11th Street Bridge Park
As the old 11th Street river bridges that connect Washington, D.C.’s Capitol Hill and historic Anacostia neighborhoods are being replaced, the District government and a local nonprofit organization, Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC, will transform the aged infrastructure into the city’s first elevated park: a new venue for healthy recreation, environmental education and the arts.


The 11th Street Bridge Park will span the capital’s cityscape – a soaring structure that will engage the local community and bring residents together from across the region. We are proposing to create a place unlike any other in Washington, D.C. – one that supports the community’s physical, environmental, cultural and economic health. To date, staff have secured over $840,000 as part of a larger $1 million pre-capital campaign goal. The DC City Government recently committed an additional $14.5 million toward the project representing half of the expected construction cost.

Additional support is provided by the Educational Foundation of American, the Horning Family Foundation, the Prince Charitable Trusts, LISC DC, the Fetzer Memorial Trust, Autodesk, Grosvenor, Forest City Washington, Urban Land Institute Washington, Urban Land Institute Foundation, Justice and Sustainability Associates, Industrial Bank, Irene and Alan Wurtzel, Nick and Gardiner Lapham, Pendragwn Productions, PRR, Goulston & Storrs, JBG, Susan Clampitt, David Schwarz, Melissa Hook, Anacostia Business Improvement District, 4Site and the Beacon Hotel and Corporate Quarters.

About Building Bridges Across the River at THEARC – The 11th Street Bridge Park is a project of the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC), a $27 million, 110,000 square-foot campus located east of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C.’s Ward 8. The mission of THEARC is to improve the quality of life for residents of Washington D.C.’s East of the River community, a key goal of the future 11th Street Bridge Park. THEARC is a home away from home for the many underserved children and adults of East of the River, enabling them to participate in dance classes, music instruction, fine arts, academics, continuing education, mentoring, tutoring, recreation, medical and dental care, and other services at a substantially reduced cost or no cost at all. On-site non-profit partners include Washington Ballet, Levine School of Music, Children’s Medical Center and eight other organizations.”