After a seven-month nationwide competition, the design for Washington, DC’s 11th Street Bridge Park by OMA + OLIN was unanimously selected by the competition jury. The design team was asked to transform an aged-out freeway bridge into a one of a kind new civic space over the Anacostia River.
The team’s design concept connects two historically disparate sides of the Anacostia River with a series of outdoor programmed spaces and active zones, including two sloped ramps that elevate visitors to maximized lookout points to landmarks in either direction. Each ramp terminates in a waterfall that reconnects the ramps to the river below. On the east side, the waterfall is linked to an active filtration system that in conjunction with new wetland areas adjacent to the bridge piers works to actively clear the river. To encourage visitors to the bridge and neighboring communities, the design includes amenities for comfort and refreshment and an open plaza for markets, festivals, and theatrical performances. The form of the bridge creates an iconic encounter, an “X” instantly recognizable as the river’s new image.
Hallie Boyce, OLIN’s Partner and design lead on the project commented, “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.”
Informed by over 400 community meetings organized by 11th Street Bridge Park staff, the four final design teams were asked to create an iconic new civic space supporting the community’s environmental, economic, cultural and physical health. These four teams were selected by the Bridge Park’s Jury of national experts for their creativity, energy and vision from more than 80 firms who submitted proposals in March, 2014.
The four final teams were:
- Balmori Associates / Cooper, Robertson & Partners
- OLIN / OMA (WINNERS)
- Stoss Landscape Urbanism / Höweler + Yoon Architecture
- Wallace Roberts & Todd (WRT) / NEXT Architects
More information at the 11th Street Bridge Competition
Image Credits | © As Noted
Text | 11th Street Bridge Competition
