TALL DC: New Monumentalism

Since it was enacted by Congress, the Height of Buildings Act of 1910 has restricted how tall buildings can be designed in the District of Columbia. TALL DC: New Monumentalism features student work from the Catholic University of America’s School of Architecture and Planning (CUA) that provocatively explores what Washington could look like in the absence of this law. Working within CUA’s Emerging Technologies and Media graduate concentration, students analyzed two of Washington’s most recognizable structures, the U.S. Capitol and the Washington Monument, and questioned the definition of “monument” in the contemporary context of global commercial markets, residential migration, and iconic skylines. Three distinct proposals for a mixed-use ‘skyscraper’ were created for the Department of Commerce site located near the National Mall. Using radically different design strategies, each concept offers a creative and controversial idea for building a TALL DC. The studio was led by Associate Professor Lavinia Fici Pasquina with Daniel Gillen, Founding Principle of DGD. Participating students include John Abowd, Elizabeth Esposito, Brittany Fernald, Rayan Hakeem, Marie Hunnell, Mani Kordestani, Ryan Nugent, Azita Soltani Far, and Nina Tatic. http://aiadac.com/sigal-gallery/tall-dc