Austrian-born architect Friedrich St.Florian has taught and practiced architecture for more than half a century, but he is perhaps best known for one project: the National World War II Memorial in Washington, DC. Ten years after the opening of that project, his firm, Friedrich St.Florian Architects, continues to pursue heritage work, including, recently, the design of the Michigan-based Agricultural Awareness & Preservation Museum and the planning of a headquarters for an import company on a historic farm in Connecticut. Here, St.Florian returns to the World War II memorial, reflecting on its challenges and its contribution to his legacy.
The World War II Memorial project was part of a national competition. Did your firm have any prior experience in these sorts of contests?
As we were beginning to practice, we worked on a lot of competitions, and we were successful in some. Clearly the highlight and by far the most prominent project that I can point to is the WWII Memorial. It’s interesting because at the time that the competition was announced, the chief editor of a major architecture magazine wrote that this was an “impossible site.”
Impossible?
The project’s site was in the National Mall and held the Rainbow Pool, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. So the site was already occupied and you couldn’t touch it. Plus, you could absolutely not disturb the grand urban vista between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. So, you had no ground to build on, and you couldn’t go up into the air. That was exactly what intrigued me—and the more than 400 architects who participated in the competition.
So what was your solution?
Our design was the only project that lowered the memorial plaza gently into the ground. By doing that, we were able to keep the vista open between the Lincoln and the Washington Memorials.
Did you feel like you had a good chance of winning?
I remember we were working on the competition—I had a staff of about six who were working with me on the competition—and I made that sketch showing the plaza sunken into the ground, with earth berms on the side. I looked up and I said, “I think we have a winning design!”