Drawing her inspiration from historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Pierre L'Enfant and from classical architecture such as the Coliseum, the Roman Forum and the Greek Epidaurus amphitheater, studio art professor Karolina Kawiaka designed a plan for the grounds of the Washington Monument that was selected in June as one of six finalists in the "National Ideas Competition for the Washington Monument Grounds."
The contest, which opened in Summer 2010, is intended to promote a public discourse of the potential uses of the site, according to James Clark, president of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects and chair of the competition's steering committee.
Kawiaka's design, "The People's Forum," includes a large-scale amphitheater, an underground Washington Monument museum and a visitor center for the National Mall.
"I was trying to use the classical language of architecture to give ideas about American democracy," Kawiaka said.
The six winners of the National Ideas Competition will be featured in exhibits at the Virginia Center for Architecture in Richmond and the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. There are currently no plans to carry out any of the six finalists' design proposals, although Kawiaka said she intends to enter her project into the National Mall Design Competition. The winners of that competition which began on Sept. 8 and will end in May will redesign the Washington Monument grounds, Union Square and Constitution Gardens.
A jury selected 24 semi-finalists from a field of over 500 applicants in the initial stage of the competition, Clark said. The semi-finalists then presented their proposals before a second jury that chose six finalists, including Kawiaka, to participate in the People's Choice online stage of the competition, according to the competititon's website. Voting opened on Sept. 21 and will continue through May on the competion's website, when the top two People's Choice winners will be announced, coinciding with the National Convention of the American Institute of Architects, according to Clark.
All of the 24 semi-finalists received cash prizes, and the top six were allowed expert design assistance to prepare a formal design proposal, according to the competition's website. Kawiaka said she collaborated with landscape architect Bob White of White River Junction, Vt., to refine some of the design's details in preparation for the People's Choice competition.
Gregory Hunt, a member of the American Institute of Architects and the chair of the jury that chose Kawiaka as a finalist, said Kawiaka's "sophisticated" design stood out due to its emphasis on the Jefferson Pier, which marks the intersection of the axes that connect the White House with the Jefferson Memorial and the Capitol Building with the Lincoln Memorial.
"We were interested in how she used the axes as the center of a living forum," Hunt said. "The pier itself is harbored within the elliptical shape of the amphitheater so it gets to have formal recognition through design, which it has never had before."
Hunt said the design was "sensitive" to the wide range of public uses for the site, including demonstrations, concerts and performances.
Raymond Gastil, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners who served on the jury for the Ideas Competition's first round, said in an email to The Dartmouth that Kawiaka's solution was successful because it could easily transition between everyday use and formal events.
The site's status as one of the world's great civic monuments means that the competititon is international in scope, according to Hunt. The finalist pool included designers from South Korea and the Netherlands, he said.
Kawiaka said she decided to enter the competition after researching the history of the site and looking at previously proposed designs that had not been implemented. She thought she could refocus the space to focus on site's the visitors, she said.
"I realized it was a great opportunity to make the space even more about the people as well as a place to come together and learn about the history of the Mall and the Washington Monument," Kawiaka said.
Kawiaka said it was humbling to learn about her selection as a finalist in June.
"It was a great honor to even be working on the design of this space that so many well-known architects and landscape architects have worked on," she said.
The competition was sponsored by George Washington University in conjunction with a number of other institutes as well as private donors, according to the competition's website.
