Constitution Gardens

The Constitution Gardens, had been designed in 1976 to commemorate the nation’s bicentennial, but was never finished. Through a competition of pre-qualified teams sponsored by the Trust for the National Mall and the Park Service, our design re-calibrates the master plan, responding to changes made since its design and to new needs of increased park usage. In so doing, we explored the design as an expression of the US Constitution through a form of “radical contextualism.” A new, 10,000 SF public café is integrated into the redesigned topography, an existing central lake is restored with sustainable stormwater and biological treatment, and the singular park experience is enriched with gardens of varied character throughout the 30-acre site.