More on Washington Monument Ideas Competition
September/24/2010 12:18 PM Filed in: Washington Monument Competition | National Ideas Competition
Dear Coalition Friends:
The Washington Post published a half-page, illustrated spread about the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds on September 12th. The author, James Clark, is the Competition Chairman and President-Elect of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, as well as an experienced competition organizer.
The Competition is sponsored by The George Washington University as well as Learning Times, Albert H. Small, and many other educational and cultural institutions. The Coalition thinks this competition that encourages Americans of all ages to imagine the future of this great centerpiece of the National Mall is a great idea.
Click on the Washington Post website link below to see the accompanying historical illustrations.
By James P. Clark Washington Sunday, September 12, 2010; C06
Ask my teenage son why he is hounding me to allow him to participate in the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds, and he will say: "I want my idea to be part of history!"
The purpose of this competition is to encourage Americans to develop innovative and creative ideas for making the monument grounds more welcoming, educational and effectively used by the public. It is an appeal to designers and thinkers of all ages.
It's an intriguing space, to say the least. The Washington Monument grounds are huge -- equivalent to more than 28 football fields. Some believe that the grounds remain a big empty canvas filled with design potential, while others feel that the simplicity of the monument on the great green expanse is perfect as it is.
I have organized many design competitions, including the Interschool Design Competition held annually for more than a decade at the National Building Museum. What I enjoy most about them is the way they teach and allow people to share diverse viewpoints. This competition is designed to do that and more, spurring interest in American history, art, planning, landscape architecture and more. It will join the monument's legacy to its future, historical context and contemporary thinking.
On this page appear ideas that others have developed for this site during our nation's history. Each reflects the values and aspirations of Americans at a particular time. The National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds gives us the chance to ask what current values and aspirations our generation would see expressed on this site.
Have a look, and then reimagine the grounds for yourself. Anyone can do this. Register by Oct. 31 at http://wamocompetition.org and make your submission by mid-December. The first stage simply requires you to submit two 8½-by-11-inch pages of writing and/or graphics explaining your idea.
The competition is sponsored by universities, schools, individuals and design associations. It will be judged by an elite jury consisting of a futurist, an urban designer, an artist, a writer, a landscape architect and historians.
Participate, learn and be part of history!
The writer is chairman of the steering committee for the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds.
The Washington Post published a half-page, illustrated spread about the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds on September 12th. The author, James Clark, is the Competition Chairman and President-Elect of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects, as well as an experienced competition organizer.
The Competition is sponsored by The George Washington University as well as Learning Times, Albert H. Small, and many other educational and cultural institutions. The Coalition thinks this competition that encourages Americans of all ages to imagine the future of this great centerpiece of the National Mall is a great idea.
Click on the Washington Post website link below to see the accompanying historical illustrations.
* * *
THE WASHINGTON POST
One monumental design opportunity
By James P. Clark Washington Sunday, September 12, 2010; C06
Ask my teenage son why he is hounding me to allow him to participate in the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds, and he will say: "I want my idea to be part of history!"
The purpose of this competition is to encourage Americans to develop innovative and creative ideas for making the monument grounds more welcoming, educational and effectively used by the public. It is an appeal to designers and thinkers of all ages.
It's an intriguing space, to say the least. The Washington Monument grounds are huge -- equivalent to more than 28 football fields. Some believe that the grounds remain a big empty canvas filled with design potential, while others feel that the simplicity of the monument on the great green expanse is perfect as it is.
I have organized many design competitions, including the Interschool Design Competition held annually for more than a decade at the National Building Museum. What I enjoy most about them is the way they teach and allow people to share diverse viewpoints. This competition is designed to do that and more, spurring interest in American history, art, planning, landscape architecture and more. It will join the monument's legacy to its future, historical context and contemporary thinking.
On this page appear ideas that others have developed for this site during our nation's history. Each reflects the values and aspirations of Americans at a particular time. The National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds gives us the chance to ask what current values and aspirations our generation would see expressed on this site.
Have a look, and then reimagine the grounds for yourself. Anyone can do this. Register by Oct. 31 at http://wamocompetition.org and make your submission by mid-December. The first stage simply requires you to submit two 8½-by-11-inch pages of writing and/or graphics explaining your idea.
The competition is sponsored by universities, schools, individuals and design associations. It will be judged by an elite jury consisting of a futurist, an urban designer, an artist, a writer, a landscape architect and historians.
Participate, learn and be part of history!
The writer is chairman of the steering committee for the National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds.