Hood Design Studio
The creation of the Tidal Basin landscape reflects the participation of many voices, both heard and unheard. We propose three “anthems” to guide our design:
Tell the Truth! Is it possible to replace the Basin’s classical design of the romantic and baroque with other stories embedded in the American landscape—ones that tell of perseverance and resilience? Let the Waters Be Free The Tidal Basin eradicated existing wetlands, but such landscapes were valued by indigenous and enslaved people; for the latter, they functioned as “hush harbors,” where black communities of faith first developed. Can we restore these stories? Invention: Making New Things Today, as we debate how to face climate change, the proposed Green New Deal offers a blueprint for the future that updates the New Deal of the 1930s. Can we trigger a national ethic that rebuilds urban ecologies and puts people back to work?
Hood Design Studio identifies its proposal as a “novella in four parts.”
Hood Design Studio is based in Oakland, California, founded by Walter Hood in 1992. The studio’s practice is tripartite, combining art and fabrication, design and landscape, and research and urbanism. The firm seeks to strengthen ecological and cultural patterns and practices, including those that remain unseen or unrecognized. The firm’s projects include the landscaping of the new M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco and the garden at New York’s Cooper Hewitt Museum. Visit Their Website
