By Karissa Rosenfield (click here for original article)

The ten finalists competing in the final phase of the National Mall Design Competition are dreaming big. Proposals to restore the National Mall include flourishing lakeside gardens, contemporary cafés hovering over water, grassy new amphitheaters and underground pavilions exposed at the foot of the Washington Monument. Since the announcement of the finalists, the teams have been refining there proposals behind closed doors.

Now, the Trust for the National Mall has released the highly anticipated proposals to the public. From now until Sunday, at the Smithsonian Castle and the National Museum of American History, you can view each proposal in its entirety. If you don’t live in the D.C. area, no need to worry. Continue after the break to catch a glimpse of each submission and learn how you can help the jury decided who will revamp America’s “front yard”.

The designs will bring the next evolution to the aging mall. The estimated $700 million restoration will include three selected areas – Union Square including the Reflecting Pool and the Ulysses S. Grant Memorial, Sylvan Theater on the Washington Monument Grounds, and the Constitution Gardens between the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial.

Below, we have provided you with a render that represents each proposal. Click on the name’s of each design team to be redirected to the official competition website. There you can view each proposals and leave your feedback for the jury.

PHOTO GALLERY

The winning designs will be selected by a Jury of eight renowned experts from the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, community activism, historic preservation, public branding, graphic design and sustainable land use. Each finalist will be judged on the functionality, sustainability and constructability of the proposal and its ability to reflect the “established vision and design influences”. The winning design teams will be announced May 3rd, 2012.

All images are courtesy of the Trust for the National Mall.