04 Dec Four Finalists Advance in Competition to Design the Fallen Journalists Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
The Foundation’s Design Team Selection Committee recommends a select group of architecture and design teams to submit design concepts for the memorial.
WASHINGTON, D.C., (December 4, 2023) – Today, the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation announced the four architecture and design teams that have advanced to the final round of the design selection process to build the first national memorial dedicated to press freedom and journalists who have lost their lives in service to that cause. The foundation’s Design Team Selection Committee, comprised of prominent design and architecture experts from across the nation, conducted a rigorous, multi-stage selection competition.
The committee initially received 54 expressions of interest from a diverse cohort of architects and designers from the U.S. and abroad, which were narrowed to a semi-finalist group of 12 design teams who presented their work and preliminary concepts for the memorial at sessions with the committee in November. In January, the four finalist design teams will present more detailed proposals for the memorial which will be located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in direct line of sight of the U.S. Capitol.
The four architecture and design teams advancing to the final round include:
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- Höweler+Yoon Architecture, based in Boston, MA, which specializes in technologically innovative, socially engaged work and is known for its design of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia.
- John Ronan Architects, based in Chicago, IL, which was internationally recognized for its design of the Poetry Foundation building in Chicago.
- MOS+ HOOD are based in New York and Oakland, CA, respectively. MOS is best known for design work that includes residential, cultural and educational projects. HOOD created the landscape design concept for the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
- NADAAA, based in Boston, MA, which has extensive experience designing cultural projects. It is known for its work with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Lincoln Center focusing on bringing equity to cultural spaces.
The finalists have been asked to submit design concepts that will include, among other things, site analysis diagrams, contextual framework diagrams, and illustrative site plans. Following in-person meetings with the selection committee, the final design team will be selected and announced in the Spring of 2024.
“The selection committee organized an outstanding process and came up with an excellent and diverse list of finalists,” said David Dreier, Chairman of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation. “I’m excited to learn how they translate the concept of press freedom and the notion of honoring those who have lost their lives in pursuit of truth into a cohesive design of this public memorial of preeminent and historical significance.”
“We are thrilled by the incredible enthusiasm the design and architecture community has shown in participating in this important effort,” said Barbara Cochran, President of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation. “Every submission showed a deep appreciation for the vital role of the free press in maintaining democracy and for the sacrifices journalists make to report the news. We are grateful for the expertise shown by our Design Team Selection Committee members as they made the difficult decision on which teams to advance to the next stage.”
“It has been a real honor to help lead this process and participate in rigorous discussions with my colleagues on the selection committee to determine the best approach for translating our memorial concepts into architectural form,” said Paul Goldberger, Pulitzer Prize winning architecture critic and the foundation’s architecture advisor. “Determining which of the four design teams should advance to the final stage of consideration has been exceptionally difficult given the consistent quality and seriousness of commitment to the idea of this memorial that every one of the 12 semi-finalist teams has shown in this process.”
In addition to Goldberger, Cochran, and Dreier, the selection committee includes Mia Lehrer, landscape architect; Milton Curry, professor of architecture at Cornell University; Joe Day, architect; Blair Kamin, architecture critic; Eden Rafshoon, president of the Foundation for Art and Preservation in Embassies; Alan Harwood, partner in AECOM; and Vincent Randazzo, project director of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.
ABOUT THE FOUNDATION
The Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation was authorized by Congress in December 2020 to build a memorial on federal land in Washington, D.C. to commemorate America’s commitment to a free press by honoring journalists who have sacrificed their lives in service to that cause. The foundation is led by the past Chairman of the Tribune Publishing Company and former U.S. Representative David Dreier, as well as former news executive and journalism professor Barbara Cochran. The foundation is supported by numerous leaders from all segments of the journalism community who serve on its Board of Advisors, including editors and publishers, news anchors, and photojournalists. Learn more about the Fallen Journalists Memorial and how to support this work at www.fallenjournalists.org and follow us at @FJMemorial.
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