Congratulations to James Corner Field Operations on their Merit Award in the Design-Unbuilt Category for their Georgetown Canal Plan in Washington, DC.

Through restoration, revitalization, and interpretation, the Georgetown Canal Plan seeks to establish the first mile of the C&O Canal National Historic Park as a world-class destination.

The Plan builds on key opportunities and challenges identified by the community and stakeholders, designing a safer, more connected, and more accessible canal that highlights local nature and biodiversity.

A conceptual framework imagines the canal as “One Continuous Path”. With “Five Gateways” that serve as connection points; all set within “Eight Landscapes” that organize the canal into zones that are experientially distinct from one another.

Through proposed interventions, including expanded social spaces, new vertical circulation, places to sit and linger, and enhanced native planting, the experience of visiting the canal evolves, becoming one that weaves together the site’s layers of history, community, and ecology with the Georgetown of today.