Rising Potomac, Raising Action
[The Monumental Core : Washington, D.C.]

Water is an iconic subject on our National Mall. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, in its vast stillness, offers reflection of two
presidential monuments, while the Tidal Basin, reveals water as a threat as it reclaims the ground of the monumental core. This project
begins with the question: How can we create a space in which water has a new form of reflection, one that is a realistic reflection of the
consequences of climate change and past decisions to claim water’s territory with filled land? One that reflects The White House.
In thinking about the opportunity to create a dialogue between a confrontation with sea level rise and the relocation of a designated
space for free speech and assembly - while also recognizing the current structure of the monumental core as a static vision - I propose
to defer the consequence of sea level rise, closer to the white house via a canal that runs from the Tidal Basin to The Ellipse directly in
conversation with The White House. The design offers two spaces for free speech, as gathering in The Ellipse, and as canvas on the
new canal wall.

The canal will be built over time, as needed, relative to rising sea level. When water reaches 17’elevation, the canal will reach The
Ellipse. If it does not, the final phase of the project, will not reach ‘completion.’ The eastern edge of the wall will be constructed first,
and act as both an indicator of the potential future canal, while it’s intention is also to act as a canvas for free speech. Ephemerality is
becoming the means to addressing the shifting needs of a society. The wall, is an open invitation for the people, artists and writers, to
visually express their needs and wants from our government.

The project is being specific about how and where we allow water in, to make a statement, and place pressure on those who have the power to make change while also providing the canvas for free speech - a canvas we will have until, potentially, we lose it to a new reflection of The White House.

Harvard University GSD: Option Studio - Washington Common, An Unmonumental Core for Our Capital City [Module 2: 7 weeks]

Instructor: Gary Hilderbrand