OMA + OLIN to Design Washington, D.C. Bridge
John Hill
16. oktober 2014
Navy Yard View. Image: OMA + OLIN
The 11th Street Bridge Park has announced the selection of OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture + OLIN as the design team for Washington, D.C.’s first elevated park over the Anacostia River.
The team of OMA + OLIN bested three other teams – Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners; Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture; Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects / Magnusson Klemencic Associates – in the seven-month, three-stage national design competition. Competitors were asked to "transform an aged-out freeway bridge into a one of a kind new civic space over the Anacostia River." OMA + OLIN's "Anacostia Crossing" scheme was the jury's* unanimous choice, as well as the design receiving the highest marks from a "Design Oversight Committee" made up of community stakeholders and the most votes from a public poll of over 1,100 participants.
Elevation View. Image: © OMA + OLIN
According to Jason Long, partner in OMA's New York City office, "Our design creates a literal intersection and a dynamic, multi-layered amenity for both sides of the river. It simultaneously functions as a gateway to both sides of the river, a lookout point with expansive views, a canopy that can shelter programs and a public plaza where the two paths meet. The resulting form of the bridge creates an iconic encounter, an 'X' instantly recognizable within the capital’s tradition of civic spaces."
Anacostia Park, Fall. Image: © OLIN
Partner Hallie Boyce, of Philadelphia-based landscape architects OLIN, said, "The 11th Street Bridge Park project is an incredible opportunity to contribute to the civic fabric of Washington, D.C. through the design of an iconic, multi-functional landscape which promotes the health of the river and its adjacent communities acting as a model both nationally and globally."
Site plan © OMA
The $40 million project is a collaboration between the Washington, D.C. government and the nonprofit Building Bridges Across the River. The former is supplying about a third of the funding, with the balance coming from private donors via a capital campaign now underway. Having a preliminary design by a high-caliber design team should aid in fundraising efforts. A targeted completion date for the elevated park has not been announced.
Boardwalk and Docks. Image: © OLIN
Anacostia Falls. Image: © OMA
Amphitheatre. Image: © OMA
Environmental Education Center. Image: © OMA
Cafe. Image: © OMA
*The jury:
• Toni L. Griffin, 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, FCIP, Design Competition Advisor