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"Grand gestures" to link the Gateway Arch and grounds with downtown St. Louis appear in both of the top designs in the School of Architecture's biannual Steedman Competition -- an Italian architect's winning proposal and the second-place design entered by a Washington University graduate student.
The winner, Fabio Oppici of Rome, was selected from 61 entrants from Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. Oppici will receive a $20,000 traveling fellowship to interview and research the work of 15 leading figures in contemporary Japanese architecture.
Titled "Bridging the Gap -- Architecture in the Shadow of the Arch," the Steedman 2000 Fellowship in Architecture International Design Competition called for ideas for connecting Eero Saarinen's Gateway Arch and the surrounding Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Park with St. Louis' downtown district. The proposals each addressed the Interstate 70 "trench" separating the park from the rest of downtown and offered designs for a museum of American architecture.
Oppici's winning design was selected for its new and engaging vision of the city. He proposed covering the interstate trench with a translucent glass surface allowing pedestrians to cross directly into the park from downtown St. Louis. His subterranean Museum of Architecture would surround the freeway and connect to the translucent plaza, making the freeway visible through a sculptural glass tube.
Architecture graduate student Kevin Le, who received second place in the competition, proposed a reflecting pool of water to the west of the Arch, allowing visitors to see its reflection as they approach from the city. Le also included a subterranean museum and courtyard that would allow framed views of the Arch and the city. Alumnus Eric Clough of New York was among the seven finalists in the competition. The entries of Oppici, Le and the other finalists will be exhibited at the Forum for Contemporary Art in St. Louis Feb. 22 through March 18.
"The designs of Oppici and Le both understood the power of the structure of the Arch and did not try to challenge it vertically," noted Will Bruder, competition adviser and Arizona architect. "Their solutions complement the Arch, offering grand gestures that create a new urban landscape -- both celebrating our culture and energizing the community.
"The winning scheme really sparks the imagination with its kaleidoscopic wrapping of the freeway and the new piazza linking the city with the Arch grounds."
Stephen Leet, associate professor of architecture and the competition organizer, hopes this year's theme will spur an ongoing dialogue about the Arch grounds. "The competition was about making a positive intervention in our community that would address the debilitative effect of the highway separation between the Arch grounds and downtown St. Louis," Leet said.
"The design proposals of the winner and finalists each offer possibilities for St. Louis' future at a critical time when the city is redefining its downtown."
This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Steedman Competition, which is supported by an endowment given the school in honor of James Harrison Steedman. Steedman, who received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University in 1889, was killed in active duty during World War I.
Other members of the Steedman 2000 jury were Barcelona architect Elias Torres; Reed Kroloff, editor-in-chief of Architecture Magazine; Italian architect and industrial designer Paolo Rizzatto; and New York architect Billie Tsien. In addition to Leet, the competition governing committee includes Fred Powers, committee chair and St. Louis architect; Eric Mumford, Ph.D., assistant professor of architecture; and Bill Wischmeyer, St. Louis architect, affiliate associate professor of architecture and a 1973 competition winner.
