For quite some time there's been a consensus that the Arch grounds need some work. Although the trees are nice, the grounds don't live up to the international landmark they surround. This morning, five plans from finalists in the The City + The Arch + The River competition were announced that could drastically change the landscape around our beloved Gateway to the West. Here's a primer for the five concepts (all info from the competition website, not all-inclusive). It's up to you (well, really the competition's jury) to decide what's best for St. Louis. Let us know what you think in the comments section.
For more information on all the plans, visit cityarchrivercompetition.org.
1. Behnisch Team
Overall strategy:
RIVERCIRCLE, a concept "based on the close relationship between people's natural use of public spaces and the physical character and form of the built environment while embracing the unique qualities of the local context on both sides of the Mississippi River."
A few major projects:
- The Bend Amphitheater: A floating amphitheater off the Illinois side of the river, in direct view of the Arch.
- A gondola across the river
- Sculpture gardens on the Illinois and Missouri sides of the river, rose gardens, an ice rink in Keiner Plaza
- Great Rivers Resource center on Illinois side
- American Bottoms Nature Reserve
2. MVVA Team
Overall strategy:
"The redesigned Memorial will be a centerpiece of civic culture, an engine of regional economic growth, a showcase for sustainable ecological restoration, and a celebration of the national significance of this historic place."
A few major projects:
- West Gateway: A new Memorial Drive entrance to the Museum of Westward Expansion
- One-block wide deck for pedestrians over I-70
- Remove existing Memorial Garage to make room for more event space, a shaded seating area, a large playground, an amphitheater, and a Gateway Urban Ecology Center
- A new parking facility with an ice skating rink on the roof in the winter, a beer garden in the summer
- On the Illinois side, a wetland reserve with treetop walkways and National Park Service research centers
3. PWP Team
Overall strategy:
Focuses on the natural landscape, the history of expansion, and the ecological development of the West, past, present, and future
A few major projects:
- Build parking garages beneath Gateway Mall
- Rebuild Keiner Plaza
- Plant prairie forest and native meadows
- Rebrand Museum of Westward Expansion as the Museum of the American West
- Open skylights on the museum roof
- Develop experimental fields and greenhouses on the Illinois side
4. SOM Team
Overall strategy:
To "release the power locked inside the monument grounds and put its transformative aesthetic and energy to work..."
A few major projects:
- New performance venue
- East St. Louis pedestrian bridge
- The "Magic Carpet": an enclosed bridge over I-70 from downtown to the Arch grounds
- Mississippi River swimming barge
- East St. Louis mounds park
- Patron Village and Farmers Market
5. Weiss/Manfredi Team
Overall strategy:
"Icons, infrastructure, and histories of culture, ecology, and transportation are woven together to form a compelling vision for the future."
A few major projects:
- Poplar Pedestrian and Bikeway Bridge
- Picnic, Play + Parking Groves
- RV park with public fishing, boating, and skating on new Oxbow Lake on the Illinois side
- Extend Citygarden
- River Ferry Loop between Missouri and Illinois
