"Ever-increasing pressures... have made planning for the future and design in the present a continuously imperative and evolving work of civic art."

Extending the Legacy

August 2010 — Tourists visiting Washington, D.C., U.S.A., for the first time may note the ample open space, museums lined up one after another and a carousel in front of the Smithsonian Castle. Further, the historic public realm evokes both symbolism and tradition in its L'Enfant-designed symmetry, evocative Neoclassical and Beaux-Arts architecture and tree-lined vistas. Yet the National Mall is full. The surrounding areas lack vibrancy, and the visitor experience lacks a connection to the rest of the city. The weight of the past is catching up with the paramount planning issue of our time: the environmental, economic and social sustainability of human habitation in an urban environment.

An acknowledged cultural, landscape and architectural masterpiece, the National Mall is the core area around which Washington, D.C., is focused. Numerous jurisdictions have aegis over various elements of the mall and the adjacent downtown area, but the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) is the caretaker of the U.S. capital, including the nation's front yard. Addressing a range of issues that include cultural resource preservation, urban security, transportation, open space and growth, AECOM's Design + Planning practice has partnered with NCPC to offer environmental analysis, planning, urban design and detailed design and implementation to transform Washington, D.C., one project at a time.

"We have been able to capitalize on a long history of working in Washington, D.C.," says Alan Harwood, Design + Planning principal in AECOM's Alexandria, Virginia, U.S.A. office. "NCPC, and their constituent federal partners, is a key client for the firm, providing us the opportunity to work on some of the most important planning projects in our careers that shape the future development and planning in Washington." Among more than 50 public and private sector commissions that bear directly on one of the U.S.'s most important cultural sites, a few projects especially have shaped the future of the capital's monumental space.

Monumental Core: Extending the Legacy (1997)

This visionary plan guides development through the year 2050 for a core area of 5,000 acres from the Anacostia River to Arlington National Cemetery, including the National Mall and the Federal Triangle, and the bulk of the national capital's monuments, museums and tourist attractions. Building on the historic precedents established through the L'Enfant Plan of 1791 and the McMillan Plan of 1901, the plan seeks to provide a comprehensive vision for the Monumental Core and surrounding development into the mid-21st century. Through the expert participation of Joe Brown, chief executive of planning, design + development, AECOM had a significant role in re-centering Washington around the U.S. Capitol building.

Memorials and Museums Master plan (2001)

The Commemorative Zone Policy set a new direction in Washington, D.C., limiting the construction of new memorials on the mall, and encourages the placement of future commemorative works in all quadrants of the city. AECOM's Memorials and Museums Master plan identifies and promotes new sites in the District of Columbia to accommodate future demand for commemorative works, as well as to encourage redevelopment and community identity in neglected areas. In large part because of AECOM's authorship of what is affectionately known as the 2M Plan, AECOM has since been involved in more than a half-dozen new memorial projects.

The Monumental Core Framework Plan: Connecting New Destinations with the National Mall (2009)

Devised to create new destinations and improve connections to and from nearby areas, the Framework Plan is more than a master planning effort. AECOM's urban designers sought a specificity and sensitivity to find elegant, feasible answers to the District's complex issues. The plan provides accessible, inviting and attractive places for public commemoration, participation and celebration beyond the National Mall. It creates vistas of national importance, allows for important new places for cultural and commemorative attractions and improves access and connections to popular places around the city. Moreover, it promotes a high-quality, walkable urban environment and improvements to the ecological functions surrounding the National Mall. The integration of public realm improvements, urban sustainability initiatives and new development opportunities to create more livable federal precincts earned the Framework Plan several citations, including an urban design award from the American Institute of Architects in 2010.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission chose a joint venture of Frank Gehry Partners and AECOM to create a memorial to the 34th president of the United States on a four-acre parcel in the heart of Washington, D.C. Following the selection of a site just south of the National Mall, conceptual alternatives were shared with NCPC in June 2010. AECOM services in architecture and transportation are involved in this historic project that should be open to the public in 2015. 

"There has been a clear renaissance of federal Washington over the past 20 years, and AECOM has been at the forefront of many positive steps," says Roger Courtenay, Design + Planning principal in AECOM's Alexandria, Virginia office. "However, ever-increasing pressures of tourist visitation and interest in museums, memorials and monuments and their condition and expression have made planning for the future and design in the present a continuously imperative and evolving work of civic art."

Elizabeth Hensley