Breaking: Frank Gehry to Design Eisenhower Memorial
1 04 2009Huge news! The future of Eisenhower Square is finally set, we just got word that the commission in charge of choosing a final design has selected Frank Gehry for the project. Amazingly, this would be the first development in DC for the Starchitect (his design for the Corcoran was never built). We are so excited to see how this shapes up!
This is huge news and we can imagine given Gehry’s flair and imagination, the final design will not be without controversy. Gehry recently said in an interview that the unbuilt Corcoran project (pictured above) was one of his biggest regrets, so a new project in the District will certainly be sweet justice.
[Model: Gehry Partners LLC]
Oh man, I thought THAT (the fugly metal thing) was the proposed design for the Eisenhower memorial. I was thinking/hoping “April Fools” all the way…
Nope but that is what the Corcoran would have looked like, had it been built! Stay tuned… we should have some Gehry designs for the Eisenhower Memorial soon…
Great news! I can’t wait to see the plans…
I’m super excited to see this (as much as Gehry makes me gag, it’s good for the city), but I give it a 2-5 percent chance of ever seeing the light of day. The DC preservationists flip out over anything that does the architectural equivalent of showing ankle.
JTS, you’re right (speaking as an amateur preservationist-lite), but in my mind that area of the city can’t get any worse architecturally. Anything that breathes some life into that area will be fine by me.
If the memorial is indeed plopped right on top of Maryland Avenue, I would like to see Gehry at least incorporate the street’s axis into the design. Perhaps some kind of gateway, framing the view of the Capitol to the northeast?
This just screams April Fools. LOL. Would be nice, though.
The design by Gehry probably won’t look the way most people picture his work. Most of his recent designs have been much more organic and angular. Check out the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion he built last year,
http://www.serpentinegallery.org/2008/03/forthcoming_summer_2008serpent.html
This is the direction his work is headed, so don’t expect a disney concert hall-esque structure.
Don’t close off Md. Ave.!!!
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