saving a hidden landmark
Sitting on a hill, McMillan Park offers spectacular vistas of the city, the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the U.S. Capitol, and the Washington Monument. Below the vast green roofs that compose the surface of the site, away from public view, is a grid of catacombs filled with sand which were used to filter water and are softly illuminated by filtered light from skylights in the vaults. This romantic setting recalls the historic mosques and exotic bazaars of the Middle East. The green ecology above conceals an alternative ecology of sand and water below.