Architect Chosen for National Peace Garden

A Buenos Aires-born architect who resides in Cambridge, Mass., has been selected to design the National Peace Garden, which will occupy a 12-acre riverside expanse in Washington--one of the last major monument sites available in the capital.

Announcement of the selection of the olive branch-like design by Eduardo Catalano was made Wednesday in Washington after an international competition in which 901 architects and planners submitted proposals for the garden, which is intended to rival the visual impact of the Vietnam War Memorial.

The project was originated by a former Berkeley English teacher, Elizabeth Mackay Ratcliff, who convinced then-President Ronald Reagan to endorse the concept four years ago. Ratcliff’s idea was for a visually striking garden complex that would call attention to the need to find peaceful solutions to world and national conflict.

The site immediately adjoins the Potomac River and is two miles south of the Mall.

The design competition was conducted under a $75,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Construction of the National Peace Garden, which is expected to begin in 1992 at a cost of about $12 million, will be financed by private donations. More than $300,000 has been raised so far.

Ratcliff called Catalano’s winning design “a masterpiece of work . . . beyond our dreams of what is possible.” She said the garden, which is intended to be visible from the air as well as imposing at ground level, “is going to be one of the great new parts of Washington. It’s a true garden.”

The design is of a space shaped like an olive branch, with leaf-like garden areas connected to the central spine of the cluster. Visitors will pass through a glass pavilion called the Peace Gate and walk from leaf to leaf of the olive cluster along a system of paths.

The design includes an amphitheater. Irrigation channels and utility lines are incorporated in the elements of the olive branch. A lighting system will be included. Benches are placed to permit visitors to linger at a few selected spots.