Rem Koolhaas' US$45m Washington Bridge Park will reconnect the city
by Kim Megson | 18 Jan 2016
The developers creating an elevated park on a disused bridge in Washington D.C are to begin feasibility testing and community outreach programmes early this year as the project enters the pre-construction phase.
Architects Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) and landscape designers OLIN have designed the park to sit on the city’s 11th Street Bridge, which links Capitol Hill and the Anacostia neighbourhood and is currently being replaced. When finished, the site will be a green-filled public space for healthy recreation, environmental education and the arts.
The project, called Bridge Park, is being developed by the district government and the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) non-profit group. They are preparing to complete environmental and health impact assessments and begin load testing of the bridge in the first months of 2016.
“Bridge Park will span the capital’s cityscape and include outdoor performance spaces, playgrounds, urban agriculture, classrooms to teach students about river systems and public art that tells the rich history of the region,” said THEARC in a statement. “It will be a destination for some, a pedestrian or bicycle route for others and an iconic architectural symbol across the Anacostia River.”
A host of community outreach programmes have been scheduled to raise awareness and funding for the scheme.
The University of the District of Columbia and local faith communities have joined together to install the park’s first community gardens, while students from Capitol Hill’s Cesar Chavez Public Charter School are developing prototype public art for the park. It has also been announced that a temporary man-made beach will be created along the riverbank in the summer to further raise the site’s profile.
The overall budget for the park is estimated to be somewhere in the region of US$45m (£31.5m, €41.3m). The Washington D.C. City Government has committed US$14.5m (£10.1m, €13.3m) of funding to the project, and a grant of US$1.2m (£840,000, €1.1m) has been donated by the charitable Kresge Foundation, which invests in community development schemes. Further funds will be sought this year.
Speaking to CLAD last year, project director Scott Kratz said he hoped construction would begin in 2017, and the park would open in late 2018 at the earliest.
OMA OLIN architecture design park Bridge Park Washington US elevated park rivers
Landscape architects OLIN have designed much of the park's green space Credit: OMA and OLIN
The park will soon enter the pre-construction phase Credit: OMA and OLIN
The park will rest on the supporting pillars of the 11th Street Bridge Credit: OMA and OLIN
Performing arts will be hosted in Bridge Park Credit: OMA and OLIN
The park will open in 2018 at the earliest Credit: OMA and OLIN
The concept behind Bridge Park is to boost health and wellbeing in Washington Credit: OMA and OLIN
The project also has a large educational component Credit: OMA and OLIN
A children's playground features in OMA's design Credit: OMA and OLIN
The park will feature greenery and water features Credit: OMA and OLIN
The project is the latest in a series of elevated parks across the world, including the High Line in New York Credit: OMA and OLIN
A layout of the park's many leisure facilities Credit: OMA and OLIN
21 Dec 2015
Work begins on Seoul's verdant park in the sky
17 Dec 2015
Competition seeks architects to design a High Line for London
30 Nov 2015
Nikken Sekkei to masterplan Singapore's High Line-inspired rail corridor
02 Nov 2015
Crucial beakthrough reached in London Garden Bridge funding stand-off
09 Jun 2015
Snarkitecture installation recreates beach experience at Washington museum
26 Mar 2015
OMA + OLIN chosen to design Washington DC’s elevated park
12 Sep 2014
Designs revealed for Washington D.C's first elevated park
FEATURE: Features – The High Line
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