Arch Ground Design Concepts Unveiled!

Photo Caption: The Framing a Modern Masterpiece competition to re-design the St. Louis Arch and surrounding area just unveiled the five design concepts. The above design comes from the Behnisch Architekten team.

For the last series of months, five international design teams have been developing their visions for enhancing the St. Louis Arch grounds and adjacent area, including both sides of the Mississippi River. The five design concepts were unveiled to the public earlier this week. You can view them on the Framing a Modern Masterpiece website or in person at the Arch Visitors' Center located below the Arch.

The public comment period is only open through this Monday, August 23rd. Since this project will invariably transform St. Louis, we strongly encourage you to take the time to view the proposed designs and share your feedback with the competition coordinators. As you look through the designs, we encourage you to look for connectivity, walkable and bikeable environments, human-scale design (the creation of spaces and places that feel inviting, safe, and enjoyable), and designs that strengthen St. Louis's relationship with our natural and cultural heritage.

A local coalition called City to River has been strongly advocating that the designs reconnect the downtown to the Arch by removing the section of I-70 that currently divides the two. Once the New Mississippi River Bridge is built to the north of the existing MLK Bridge, that section of I-70 will be redundant, serving more as an obstacle than an asset to St. Louis. City to River has a series of renderings on their website that illustrate their vision.

The following are additional images submitted by the five design teams. To see the full designs, visit the Framing a Modern Masterpiece website. To provide your comments, visit the National Park Service comment form for the competition.

Photo Caption: The Weiss/Manfredi team envisions converting dead space beneath the highways as space for active recreation.

Photo Caption: Re-design of the actual Arch grounds presented by the Van Valkenburgh team