Finalists in National World War 1 Memorial Competition Announced

The jury, made up of "individuals representing the worlds of government, the military, the arts, and the citizens of Washington DC," selected the five finalists from the more than 350 submissions in the first stage of the competition.

The site for the National World War One Memorial is Pershing Park, a landscape designed by M. Paul Friedberg + Partners and completed in 1981. Unlike Frank Gehry's approved Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, also planned for a site in DC, which has seen opposition due to its design, opponents of the WW1 Memorial have so far focused on the site's existing design as one that should be saved rather than modified as a memorial.

In Stage II of the WW1 Memorial competition, the finalists will develop their design concepts that will then be made public for comment. The winner will be selected and presented to the full WW1 Centennial Commission early next year.

Images of the five finalists are below, but their full presentation boards are available on the memorial website.

"Plaza to the Forgotten War"  the design team of Brian Johnsen, AIA; Sebastian Schmaling, AIA, LEEP AP; and Andrew Cesarz at Schmaling Architects Milwaukee, WI:

"World War One Memorial Concept" submitted by Devin Kimmel, Principal at Kimmel Studio, llc in Annapolis, MD:

"The Weight of Sacrifice" submitted by Joseph Weishaar of Chicago, IL:

"An American Family Portrait Wall in the Park" submitted by Marta Bueno, Luis Collado, Ignacio Espigares, Jose Luis de la Fuente, Shoko Nakamura, and Jose Luis Perez-Griffo, all of STL Architects in Chicago:

"Heroes' Green" submitted by Maria Counts of Counts Studio in Brooklyn, NY: