Project Details
- Project Name
- An American Family Portrait Wall in the Park
- Location
- District of Columbia
- Project Types
- Cultural
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Team
-
Luis Collado
Jose Luis de la Fuente
Jose Luis Perez-Griffo
Ignacio Espigares
Marta Bueno
Shoko Nakamura
- Project Status
- Concept Proposal
This entry is one of five finalists in the WWI Memorial Design Competition. Read more about the competition here.
Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Our proposal for the new WWI Memorial in Pershing Park pays tribute to the American men and women who participated in the war by remembering that each of them were members of a great family: the American Family. These are the stories of our brothers and sisters, our aunts and uncles, our mothers and fathers.
We honor them in the Family Portrait Wall of America, and through these photographs we acknowledge their commitment and sacrifice as we celebrate the bonds that were forever created, the friendships that were sealed, the covenant of brotherhood that echoes even today.
Inside the Park, large format photographs are placed within framed cases that are grouped around 4 proposed themes, each evoking essential aspects of our American identity: Family, Brotherhood, Diversity and National Pride. We anticipate that historians and experts in historical photography would curate the selection of photographs during subsequent design phases.
By seamlessly blending framed memories into the landscape, our proposal provides an experience that is both park and memorial open and visible to the public. Cueing the visitor, six large scale bronze statues are strategically placed around the park, observing the framed images, and inviting the passerby to enter the park to experience the memorial. Our design incorporates the use of permeable pavers throughout the park to ensure universal accessibility to visitors.
We propose a Park that is organized by a northwest-southeast axis which visually connects Pershing Park with the Capitol and which also traces the most often walked footsteps by Washington, D.C., visitors.
Inside the Park, large format photographs are placed within framed cases that are grouped around 4 proposed themes, each evoking essential aspects of our American identity: Family, Brotherhood, Diversity and National Pride. We anticipate that historians and experts in historical photography would curate the selection of photographs during subsequent design phases.
By seamlessly blending framed memories into the landscape, our proposal provides an experience that is both park and memorial open and visible to the public. Cueing the visitor, six large scale bronze statues are strategically placed around the park, observing the framed images, and inviting the passerby to enter the park to experience the memorial. Our design incorporates the use of permeable pavers throughout the park to ensure universal accessibility to visitors.
We propose a Park that is organized by a northwest-southeast axis which visually connects Pershing Park with the Capitol and which also traces the most often walked footsteps by Washington, D.C., visitors.
