Four teams are currently locked in a competition to design Washington, D.C.'s first elevated park. OMA, Höweler + Yoon, NEXT Architects, and Cooper, Robertson & Partners have just released their preliminary design proposals for what will be known as the 11th Street Bridge Park.
The new park will be suspended over the Anacostia River and will link up two districts of the city. A cafe and water sports area, as well as performance and educational spaces, are included in each design. You can rank the designs and offer feedback here.
The winner will be announced on October 16.
Here are the shortlisted design plans:
Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners
Bridge Park will function as much as a civic center as it will as a park. It is more than a river crossing; it is a place. It will be a pioneer by strengthening the communities that give it life. Through the design of Bridge Park, we believe we can help re-connect the diverse neighborhoods on both sides of the river, re-engage the Anacostia River, improve the general quality of public health through physical and social activity, and generate new jobs for local citizens of the district. Three concepts have shaped our design. Our goal is to create a Bridge Park that is: inclusive, memorable and symbolic.
OLIN / OMA
Our design for the 11th Street Bridge Park—the Anacostia Crossing—is a place of exchange. The park at Anacostia Crossing will connect two historically disparate sides of the river with a series of outdoor programmed spaces and active zones that will provide an engaging place hovering above, yet anchored in, the Anacostia River. To create this place—more destination than elevated throughfare—we have designed the bridge park as a clear moment of intersection where two sides of the river converge and coexist. Anacostia Crossing will offer layered programs, presenting a new neighborhood park, an after-hours destination for the nearby workforce, a retreat for residents and a territory for tourists to explore.
Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture
Historically in Washington, small boats and rafts, then ferries, provided vital links across the city’s rivers, including at places along the Anacostia River. In the not so recent past, ferries shuttled workers living in the Anacostia neighborhood across the river to their jobs in the Navy Yard. These ferry crossings became as much places of congregation and assembly, places of social exchange, as they were places of passage. Our proposal for the 11th Street Bridge Park puts in place a new crossing, one that establishes new connections across and to the Anacostia River and to the burgeoning and socially / culturally rich neighborhoods along its banks.
Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects / Magnusson Klemencic Associates
Welcome to Anacostia Landing, a 25-acre park centered on the Anacostia River, gateway to historic Anacostia and extraordinary perch from which to view the District of Columbia’s emergence as a waterfront city. The WRT/NEXT design fulfills this vision by giving coordinated and exciting form to the goals set forth in the competition brief: reconnect diverse communities, reengage people with the river, improve public health through recreation and play, and expand economic opportunity.
Related Stories
K-12 Schools | Aug 29, 2024
Designing for dyslexia: How architecture can address neurodiversity in K-12 schools
Architects play a critical role in designing school environments that support students with learning differences, particularly dyslexia, by enhancing social and emotional competence and physical comfort. Effective design principles not only benefit students with dyslexia but also improve the learning experience for all students and faculty. This article explores how key design strategies at the campus, classroom, and individual levels can foster confidence, comfort, and resilience, thereby optimizing educational outcomes for students with dyslexia and other learning differences.
Museums | Aug 29, 2024
Bjarke Ingels' Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art conceived as village of 12 pavilions
The 60,000-sm Suzhou Museum of Contemporary Art in Suzhou, Jiangsu, China recently topped out. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), the museum is conceived as a village of 12 pavilions, offering a modern interpretation of the elements that have defined the city’s urbanism, architecture, and landscape for centuries.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 28, 2024
Cities in Washington State will offer tax breaks for office-to-residential conversions
A law passed earlier this year by the Washington State Legislature allows developers to defer sales and use taxes if they convert existing structures, including office buildings, into affordable housing.
Industrial Facilities | Aug 28, 2024
UK-based tire company plans to build the first carbon-neutral tire factory in the U.S.
ENSO, a U.K.-based company that makes tires for electric vehicles, has announced plans to build the first carbon-neutral tire factory in the U.S. The $500 million ENSO technology campus will be powered entirely by renewable energy. The first-of-its-kind tire factory aims to be carbon neutral without purchased offsets, using carbon-neutral raw materials and building materials.
Architects | Aug 28, 2024
KTGY acquires residential high-rise specialist GDA Architects
KTGY, an award-winning design firm focused on architecture, interior design, branded environments and urban design, announced that it has acquired GDA Architects, a Dallas-based architectural firm specializing in high rise residential, hospitality and industrial design.
K-12 Schools | Aug 26, 2024
Windows in K-12 classrooms provide opportunities, not distractions
On a knee-jerk level, a window seems like a built-in distraction, guaranteed to promote wandering minds in any classroom or workspace. Yet, a steady stream of studies has found the opposite to be true.
Building Technology | Aug 23, 2024
Top-down construction: Streamlining the building process | BD+C
Learn why top-down construction is becoming popular again for urban projects and how it can benefit your construction process in this comprehensive blog.
Airports | Aug 22, 2024
Portland opens $2 billion mass timber expansion and renovation to its international airport
This month, the Portland International Airport (PDX) main terminal expansion opened to passengers. Designed by ZGF for the Port of Portland, the 1 million-sf project doubles the capacity of PDX and enables the airport to welcome 35 million passengers per year by 2045.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 22, 2024
6 key fire and life safety considerations for office-to-residential conversions
Office-to-residential conversions may be fraught with fire and life safety challenges, from egress requirements to fire protection system gaps. Here are six important considerations to consider.
Resiliency | Aug 22, 2024
Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue
A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.
