Week two of the teen design charette for Washington DC’s 11th Street recreational bridge was a flurry of activity. The students learned the history of the project from representatives of the Department of Transportation who explained that the bridge is at the end of its useful lifespan. Rather than demolishing the entire structure, the city saw an opportunity to salvage the existing concrete piers and explore the possibility of installing a new span across the Anacostia River. This new park would no longer carry 18 wheelers, instead it would support demonstration gardens, exercise facilities, and outdoor performance spaces.
The city hopes to achieve four key objectives through building the new recreation bridge: improve community health, promote the environmental quality of the Anacostia River, stitch together the adjoining neighborhoods that have long been divided by the river, and use the bridge as an anchor for economic development. Over a two week workshop in July, the students’ task was to create programming for the bridge. The results are imaginative and inspirational.
Photo by Architecture for Humanity
Watching torrents of brown water cascade down the hill, filled with garbage and visibly eroding the rocky landscape, we were dramatically reminded of the importance of modern storm sewers. This humble piece of infrastructure, generally hidden from view, goes unnoticed during the course of our everyday lives in the United States, but on a hillside slum in urban Haiti during the rainy reason, there is nothing more important. From the perspective of public health, this regular deluge in the informal settlement of Villa Rosa is devastating, spreading disease, soaking possessions, and sometimes sweeping away entire buildings.
Photo by Architecture for Humanity
