Re-Think Dupont Circle
Building on the success of our first international competition, Dupont Underground launched a nb competition.
The submission Illume Dupont by Gensler was selected as the first place winner. Illume Dupont is a series of built interventions around Dupont Circle that uses light as a unifying element. Ethereal, these light constructs act as powerful connectors that work at many scales, linking Dupont Underground with the community, the natural and built forms of the historic Circle, and the fabric of the larger city as a whole.
To purchase the Re-Think Dupont Circle Booklet please email connect@dupontunderground.org.
In April of 2021 we exhibited the top 10 best proposals from the Re-Think Design Competition and featured them in our Architecture & the Question of Democracy exhibition. Learn More
About
Re-Think Dupont Circle was an architecture and design competition focusing on the redesign of Dupont Underground’s main entrance and the Dupont Circle as a whole.
We received nearly 100 submissions from 16 different countries were received by the initial deadline.
The competition covered the immediate urban area of Dupont Circle and takes place at two scales — Macro and Micro — that must be interwoven through concept and design.
The Macro element called for entrants to speculate how Dupont Circle can be re-designed as a contemporary urban space. As a landmark within the city and common meeting place for residents, we asked entrants to speculate on potential new urban scenarios which facilitate social exchange, community activities both day and night, public protest, and free citizen interaction so critical to healthy, democratic life.
The Micro element of the competition focuses on the space over the main entry stair to the Dupont Underground on 19th Street and its immediate surroundings. This stair entry design is to become a landmark for Dupont Circle and a “proof-of-concept” for the other seven stair entries that could ultimately frame the Circle in a further series of competitions.
See some of our submissions below.
