Marlon Blackwell Architects, BAU_Butzer Architects and Urbanism, James Corner Field Operations, Kengo Kuma and Associates, and Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers under consideration
Today the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation (GWOTMF) announced that Marlon Blackwell Architects, BAU_Butzer Architects and Urbanism, James Corner Field Operations, Kengo Kuma and Associates, and Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers are the final candidates to design the Global War on Terrorism Memorial to be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The announcement comes after the Foundation’s Designer Advisory Board (DAB) reviewed a slate of seventeen eligible designers presented by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The Foundation chose the seventeen candidates for this round after considering 177 candidates compiled in a collaborative process, with input from partners such as the Foundation’s architectural partners, Winstanley Architects and AECOM.
“In April, the Foundation entered the design phase of the Memorial’s construction process. It was therefore time to make headway toward identifying the designer who will lead a team to create a national place of honor, healing, empowerment, and unity,” said Foundation President and CEO Michael “Rod” Rodriguez.
We are confident that each of the remaining candidates are fully capable of bringing their own unique vision to the project, incorporating feedback from Gold Star families and veterans into the Memorial’s design, and guiding a team of other artists who will help create this sacred tribute to American heroes. We look forward to making a final designer selection later this summer.”
-Michael “Rod” Rodriguez, President and CEO
“The Board of Directors resolved to conduct the search for the right designer in the most transparent, impartial, and professional way possible,” said Board Chair Ted Skokos. “The Designer Advisory Board meticulously narrowed down a pool of worthy candidates to reach the current finalists. Now the Board will carefully deliberate to select the designer most capable of bringing the Memorial to life in a way that honors all who have served and sacrificed in America’s longest war.”
About Marlon Blackwell Architects
Since 1990, Marlon Blackwell Architects has received more than 120 design awards, including the 2016 Cooper Hewitt National Design Award in Architecture. The firm’s Steven L. Anderson Design Center & Vol Walker Hall at the University of Arkansas, near their headquarters in Fayetteville, won the 2018 National AIA Honor Award for Architecture.
About BAU_Butzer Architects and Urbanism
BAU_Butzer Architects and Urbanism was founded in 2008 by Hans E. Butzer and his wife, Torrey A. Butzer. The Oklahoma-based firm’s award-winning works include the National Native American Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. and the Oklahoma City National Memorial.
About James Corner Field Operations
James Corner Field Operations is a New York-based landscape architecture and urban design firm. Signature projects include the High Line in Manhattan, New York, Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois, and West End Square in Dallas Texas, which won an Architect’s Newspaper Best of Design Award – Editor’s Pick.
About Kengo Kuma and Associates
Kengo Kuma founded Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990, the firm currently offices internationally in Paris and Tokyo. The firm’s signature projects include the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo and the Victoria and Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland. In 2021, Time named Kuma the world’s most influential architect.
About Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers
Founded in 2013, New York and Houston-based Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers is a firm of architects, urban designers, and landscape architects. Their projects, including the forthcoming redesign of the Constitution Gardens portion of the National Mall, have won dozens of awards from the American Institute of Architects, Architect’s Newspaper, and other industry-leading outlets.
About the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation
Formed in 2015 by veterans, military spouses, and supportive Americans, the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT) Memorial Foundation is the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization designated by Congress to lead the effort to plan, fund, and build the National GWOT Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Our sole mission is to construct an inclusive place of honor for both uniformed and non-uniformed personnel who served and sacrificed as part of global counterterrorism operations since September 11th, 2001. The Memorial will be a place for Americans to honor, heal, be empowered, and unite. The Memorial is being funded entirely by donations; by law no federal government funding will be used. All donations are 100% tax deductible. Learn more by visiting our website. And be sure to follow our progress on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
