Five Landscape Architects Propose Plans to Save Washington, DC’s National Mall Tidal Basin
Due to rising sea levels and increased foot traffic (some 1.5 million people walk the area during the annual Cherry Blossom Festival alone), the Tidal Basin of Washington, DC’s National Mall continues to sink. To construct a plan for the future, the National Trust for Historic Preservation along with the Trust for The National Mall and the National Park Service together established the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab. Five landscape architecture firms— DLANDstudio, GGN, Hood Design Studio, James Corner Field Operations and Reed Hilderbrand—assisted by a grant from American Express, set out to develop plans to transform the area. Each proposal varied, with Hood Design Studio suggesting that the wetland should not be drained, and Kathryn Gustafson of Seattle-based GGN believing small changes should slowly enhance the environment. Executive vice president at the Trust for the National Mall, Teresa Durkin says that the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab is not a design competition but a collaboration. Read more about the future of the Tidal Basin at NPR.
Image courtesy of James Corner Field Operations/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab
Via npr.org link opens in a new window
