The St. Louis Arch is an international icon of America’s westward migration.  As The Gateway to the West, the Arch naturally draws attention to St. Louis.

The city plans to renovate the Arch grounds in order to integrate the city, the river, and the culture of St. Louis into the park grounds.

As with most renovations, there is controversy over which design firm should lead this project. 

On April 28, 2010, there was a jury meeting deciding just that.  It was decided Joe Buck would host the event and the community was invited, but only the jury could decide. 

The jury included architecture critic Robert Campbell, former deputy director of the National Park Service Denis P. Galvin, and curator of the Smithsonian’s Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum Cara McCarty. 

It was called Framing a Modern Masterpiece: Meet the Design Teams.

There were originally 49 teams entered in the competition, which was then nine which presented their team structure and designs to the jury, who then narrowed the competition down to only five teams. 

Those five teams presented at the  meeting.  They were alotted 15 minutes to discuss their recent accomplishments and their hopes for the Arch. 

They were given nine specific design goals to adhere to by the jury, which are basically  to weave the Arch into the city, maintain the history and make people want to stay in Saint Louis. 

The final five design firms included the Behnisch Team, MVVA, PWP Landscape Architecture, SOM and Weiss/Manfredi.

Their goals were as follows according to the Meet the Design Teams brochure:

1.  Beinisch:

            -express cultural values and environmental ethic

            -inform the vision and ideas that will transpire

            -collaborative link between the local community and the design team

2.  MVVA:

            -incorporate natural science, engineering and design in a holistic philosophy of    ecological urbanism

            -serve as a new locus of civic energy in the daily lives of the citizens of Saint       Louis

            – draw visitors around the world

3.  PWP Landscape Architecture:

            -reengaging the Arch with its natural and built environment

            -elevating the meaning and performance of the landscape

            -respect history while expanding possibilities for the future

4.  SOM:

            -strengthen Saint Louis and East Saint Louis relationships with the river

            committed to a healthier, ore accessible and richer riverfront

            -respect the modern masterpiece and its grounds

            -increase the flow of public life and envision active uses

5.  Weiss/Manfredi:

            -dynamic integration of architecture, art, infrastructure and landscape design

            connect the cities as well as bridge communities

            -recover ecologies and intertwine divergent histories for a sustainable future

            -enhance, extend and transform the identity of the iconic Arch

Parallel to the competition, the Steedman Competition 2010 is taking place. 

According to the competition brochure, “Granted since 1925, the Steedman Fellowship is a design competition open to citizens of all countries with no more than eight years experience/  Organized and sponsored by Washington University, the competition carries a 30,000 dollar first-place award to support study and research abroad.”

This is the largest award of its kind in the United States.

It complements the Framing a Modern Masterpiece competition because it is asking for submissions for the competition from new architects around the world. 

For more information, go to CityArchRivercompetition.org.

Which firm will win the competition is yet to be decided.