School of Architecture announces Millennium Gate contest
Special to the Observer
Notre Dame's School of Architecture and the Millennium Gate Foundation have announced a design competition for a monumental entrance to the District of Columbia in celebration of the new millennium.
The competition's requirement for a classical design makes Notre Dame's School of Architecture the logical choice to cosponsor and administer the Millennium Gate project. The school offers the only fully accredited curriculum in traditional architecture and urbanism in higher education and has been characterized as "the Athens" of he new classicism movement by The New York Times.
The competition, which is open to students and young professionals who have received a degree in architecture and related fields since 1996, will be conducted in two phases.
Entrants first are invited to design a Millennium Gate that reaffirms the central role the nation's capital plays in our civic life while contributing to the classical traditions architect Pierre Charles L'Enfant originally formulated for the city in 1793.
A jury of American and international architects will select a winning design and up to 12 individuals to participate in a charette, or collaboration, which will constitute the project's second stage.
The charette — which will also involve the offices of Wahsington, D.C., Mayor Anthony A. Williams, the D.C. City Council and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes — will produce a final design from the winning entry for a site at Barney Circle in the southeast sector of Washington. The group will also produce designs for two additional potential sites for the Millennium Gate.
After the charette, one or more of the final designs will be selected by a special review panel of the competition's sponsors and public agencies in the district for implementation. The actual execution of the design will be completed by an associated architectural firm and the ultimate construction of the gate will be done at no cost to the public.
The winning designer will be awarded $1,500 and each of the other finalists will receive $1,000 and all expenses required for participation in the charette.
The competition deadline is May 12 and the winners will be annouced in Washington during the Memorial Day holiday weekend, May 27-29. The ensuing charette will take place the week of July 2-8.
All News Stories for Monday, February 21, 2000
