The National Park Service launched an international design competition to invigorate the park and city areas surrounding one of the world’s most iconic monuments, the Gateway Arch. The arch is an integral part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial and the iconic image of St. Louis, Missouri. It was designed by Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947.
The leaders of the design teams entering the third and final stage of the competition are: Behnisch Team led by Behnisch Architekten – Stuttgart, Germany, Los Angeles; MVVA Team led by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates – New York City; PWP Landscape Architecture, Foster + Partners, Civitas – Berkeley, California; SOM, Hargreaves, BIG – Chicago; and Weiss/Manfredi, Architecture/Site Design/Urbanism – New York.
The goal of the first two steps of the process was to identify design teams with the talent, capacity and commitment to create thoughtful design solutions addressing the complex issues of the site and its relationship to the city, the river and the Illinois side. The selected teams represent local, national and international perspective. The five teams will begin now and work on design concepts, which will be put on public exhibition on August 17, 2010.
The eight member jury presented its decision to competition managers after meeting with the nine teams that competed in Stage II of the competition. The final jury pick will be announced September 24, 2010. The project will be constructed by October 28, 2015, the 50th anniversary of the completion of the arch.
Entries were received from 49 teams from around the world. The goal of The City + The Arch + The River international design competition is to create an iconic setting for the international icon, the Gateway Arch, honoring its immediate surroundings and weaving connections and transitions from the city and the Arch grounds to the Mississippi River, including the east bank in Illinois.
