Landscape Architects Unveil Plans To Save The National Mall’s Tidal Basin

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Increased car and foot traffic coupled with rising sea levels have driven parts of the Tidal Basin area underwater.





Sam Kittner/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab



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Sam Kittner/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab





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A walkway at the Tidal Basin is covered with water.





Elizabeth Blair/NPR



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Elizabeth Blair/NPR





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In one of the possible future design scenarios presented by James Cormer Field Operations, nature would take its course, and a walkway would be built around the Tidal Basin for visitors to observe.





James Corner Field Operations/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab



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James Corner Field Operations/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab





GGN imagines a plan in which the Tidal Basin would be monitored and adjustments — like, perhaps, a walkway over marshy waters — made over the rest of this century.





GGN/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab



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GGN/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab

It does make you wonder what early Washington architects were thinking. James Corner says that looking at historic maps of the capital, you can see that «the National Mall is actually on the old mouth of what was the Tiber Creek as it met the Potomac. And most of that land was marshland and mud. Very, very low lying land and, of course, subject to flooding.

The Tidal Basin Ideas Lab is not a design competition but rather, says Durkin, «a creative collaboration of the best minds that we could bring to the table. The goal is to foster conversation with architects, designers, urban planners, environmentalists and the general public.

Katherine Malone-France, chief preservation officer of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, says that during the pandemic, she and her colleagues have been struck by «how much people are interested in engaging with places digitally. She hopes people will ask tough questions. «Should we move the cherry blossoms? What would be the best way to circulate around the Tidal Basin?





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As part of its design package, Reed Hilderbrand imagines a «pedestrian bridge that draws the geometry of the city into the park.





Reed Hilderbrand/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab



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Reed Hilderbrand/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab




As part of its design package, Reed Hilderbrand imagines a «pedestrian bridge that draws the geometry of the city into the park.


Reed Hilderbrand/Tidal Basin Ideas Lab

There isn’t much time to waste. According to the Tidal Basin Ideas Lab, «the cherry trees in the grove gifted to the U.S. by Japan stand daily in 3 feet of water at high tide. By 2040, the Jefferson Memorial is projected to be submerged daily in 4 feet of water; by 2070, the MLK Jr. Memorial in 6 feet of water at high tide; and by 2100, they will likely stand in 9 feet of water under the same conditions.

«This isn’t something that we’re looking out for in 10 or 50 years’ time, says Corner. «It’s already with us. And so how we address it now is critical … not simply as a Band-Aid but as something that can be truly transformative and become a legacy for future generations.