FRAMING A MODERN MASTERPIECE | The City + The Arch + The River | 2015 is an International Design Competition that honors the spirit of exploration that inspired Thomas Jefferson and Eero Saarinen. Sponsored by a partnership of the National Park Service, the City of St. Louis and other riverfront interests, the Competition presents a lifetime opportunity for architects, landscape architects and designers—and for National Park supporters the world over. The challenge is to take one of our country’s first urban park sites, weave it into the city fabric, explore the role of Jefferson National Expansion Memorial as an active part of the downtown and a contributor to economic growth, celebrate the riverfront and mitigate the divisive “moat” of transportation around the site. This challenge is daunting and complex— but the opportunity is one that could result in a legacy project for this generation of citizens and leaders.

This Competition is about connections and weaving an urban park into the city fabric of St. Louis. An integral part of the design challenge is achieving a balance between new ideas and design and the retention of the character-defining features of the Saarinen-Kiley vision for the site, which is a National Historic Landmark.

FRAMING A MODERN MASTERPIECE | The City + The Arch + The River | 2015 International Design Competition is a three-stage process. The three stages are (1) portfolio evaluations to select 8-10 potential design teams, (2) team interviews to narrow the field to 4-5 potential design teams, and (3) a design competition to select a design and team to execute that design. For Stage I, submissions are required to identify a team of designers and lead designer, and submit a portfolio of recently completed work by each member of the design team. The required portfolio submission would include a brief description of the design team, a statement of design intent and philosophy by the lead designer, a profile of the design team and examples of their work. Based on an evaluation of the portfolios, a short-list of 8-10 design teams will be selected to participate in Stage II. In this stage, the design teams must form complete design teams capable of executing the project. The teams submit a Federal Standard Form 330 for evaluation and participate in an interview with the Jury. The SF 330 details the team’s qualifications and requires a thorough description of the proposed team, resumes of key personnel, and example projects. The subsequent interview entails a presentation by key members of the design team followed by a discussion with the Jury structured to address specific project criteria.

After the interview, the Jury will select 4-5 design teams to participate in a 90-day design concept competition to explore their design approach and test their working methodology. The design team must create and submit a design concept for the project responding to specific criteria that will provide insight into the designer’s approach as well as clarification of program, site, and technical requirements for the project. The result of the competition is a design and a capable design team. The design concepts submitted are assumed to be an appropriate point of beginning for the project once the design and the design Team are selected. As design criteria may evolve from the competition process, it is assumed the selected design concept will evolve as more detailed design continues. Final selection of the successful design team is based wholly on the submitted design concepts. It is assumed that all the design teams selected to participate in Stage III are fully capable of executing the project effectively and it is their visions of the project that separates them.