West Potomac Park to Host 2011 Solar Decathlon
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The U.S. Department of Energy just announced that the West Potomac Park, adjacent to the National Mall between the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials will be hosting the 2011 Solar Decathlon. The event’s permit for the National Mall, the launching pad for the largest solar competition in the world, had been revoked in mid January creating a lot of disruption for the 20 collegiate Solar Decathlon teams who had put over 18 months of work in preparation for the event.
Here is our previous coverage of the Solar Decathlon.
Video: Keep the Solar Decathlon on the Mall
Students from the 20 collegiate Solar Decathlon teams are continuing to raise public awareness in an attempt to keep the Solar Decathlon on the National Mall in Washington DC. They have been building momentum and applying pressure to Secretary Salazar throughout the past month trying to overturn the abrupt decision by the National Park Service who revoked the permit for the Solar Decathlon on January 11.
Take a look at our previous coverage and full article about the 2011 Solar Decathlon booted off the National Mall.
Watergate Apartment / Robert Gurney Architect
The Watergate complex, in Washington DC consists of five buildings sited on ten acres overlooking the Potomac River and was built between 1963 and 1972. Designed by Italian Architect Luigi Moretti, the Watergate is considered one of Washington’s most desirable addresses.
This 1,250 square foot unit is located on the fourteenth floor and was never previously renovated. Compartmentalized spaces with ceiling heights less than 8’-4” high presented the perception of a low horizontal environment. Offsetting these less than optimal existing conditions are spectacular views along the Potomac River looking toward the landmark Francis Scott Key Bridge.
Architects: Robert Gurney Architect
Location: Washington DC, USA
Project Architect: Sarah Mailhot
Contractor: Added Dimensions
Interiors: Baron Gurney Interiors
Engineer: D. Anthony Beale LLC
Photographs: Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer
Lorber Tarler Residence / Robert Gurney Architect
Located in the Mount Vernon Square neighborhood of Washington DC, an existing row house has been reimagined as a modern, light filled urban dwelling for a professional couple. The compartmentalized interior of the existing house was gutted, and the rear façade and porch were removed. Surrounded by buildings on three sides and limited to the existing seventeen foot wide by thirty foot deep footprint, the new floor layout and open plan are intended to provide dynamic interior spaces in sharp contrast to the originally dark, cramped house.
Architects: Robert Gurney Architect
Location: Washington, DC, USA
Project Architect: Brian Tuskey
Contractor: Prill Construction
Engineer: D. Anthony Beale LLC
Interior Designer: Baron Gurney Interiors
Photographs: Paul Warchol Photography
Union Station Bicycle Transit Center / KGP design
Architects: KGP design
Location: Washington D.C, USA
Project area: 1,750 sq. ft.
Photographs: Courtesy of KGP design
Town House / Robert Gurney Architect
Built like its neighbors, over a century ago and part of a continuous network of buildings in a historical district, this town house has been completely renovated. Regulations required that the traditional limestone facade remain intact. The bottom floor of the facade has been reworked within the existing limestone composition in an effort to provide a separate entrance and storefront for a commercial tenant in the lower level. The rear facade, located in an alley has been completely reworked to provide more light into the building.
Architects: Robert Gurney Architect
Location: Washington DC, USA
Project Architect: John Riordan
Contractor: Prill Construction
Engineer: D. Anthony Beale LLC
Project Year: 2007
Photographs: Paul Warchol Photography
Eastern Market Row House Renovation / David Jameson Architect
Evoking the image of an illuminated Japanese lantern, a glass and steel volume is incised into the body of an existing row house. Conceptually a contrast of the light and heavy, acid etched panels are inserted into a self supporting steel frame that cantilevers out of the masonry mass.
Architects:David Jameson Architect, Inc.
Location: Washington DC, USA
Principal in Charge: David Jameson
Project Architect: Christopher Cabacar
Construction: LR Mailloux Construction, Inc.
Project Area: 1,150 sqf
Photographs: Hoachlander-Davis Photography
Solar Decathlon Moved from the National Mall
The 20 collegiate teams chosen for the 2011 Solar Decathlon headed to Orlando, Florida last week for the International Builders’ Show where they met with media, exhibited scaled models of their current designs, and had their Design Drawings reviewed – the last stages of preparation, feedback, and red-flags prior to the September assembly at the National Mall in Washington DC.
In a strange turn of events, the National Park Service and Department of Energy decided to simultaneously announce last week that the Solar Decathlon would not be hosted at the National Mall. Contestants were blindsided by the announcement to relocate this years U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 competition. The launching pad for the largest solar competition in the world, where contestants are educating the general public about sustainable living and further are held fiscally responsible under competition rules for maintaining and restoring their respective sites to their natural state following the exhibition, is apparently not good for sustainability.
More following the break
Stalling Detritus Installation / David Jameson Architect
The Longview Gallery in Washington DC invited David Jameson Architect to design an installation that investigates the relationship of art and architecture. The gallery space is housed next to the DC Convention Center in the shell of a 1930’s auto repair garage. Conceived as a spatial armature, Stalling Detritus, as the installation is called, creates a gallery within the gallery by weaving steel beam scraps through space that react to the topography of the concrete structure.
Architects: David Jameson Architect, Inc.
Location: 1234 9th St NW Washington, DC, USA
Principal: David Jameson
Project Architect: Ron Southwick
Contractor: Rockville Iron Works Inc
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Alan Karchmer Photography
Arena Stage / Bing Thom Architects
Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater doubles the company’s previous facilities. The design by Bing Tom Architects included restoring two historic theaters, Fichandler and Kreeger, and adding a new experimental theater, Kogod Cradle. A wood and glass structure encase all three theaters topped by a sculptural and dramatic cantilevered roof. Bing Thom Architects thoughtful site design has turned this project into a catalyst in the SW Washington community spurring redevelopment with in the surrounding areas.
Architects: Bing Thom Architects
Location: Washington DC, United States
Principal: Bing Thom, Michael Heeney
Project Director: James Brown
Project Team: Brian Ackerman
, John Camfield,
Venelin Kokalev, Ling Meng, Michael Motlagh, Francis Yan, Harald Merk, Berit Wooge, Bibianka Fehr, Dan Du, Nicole Hu, Robert Sandilands, Bonnie Thom
, Amirali Javidan,
Shinobu Homma,
Derek Kaplan,
Marcos Hui, Rose Chung
Acoustical Engineer: Talaske
Theater Consultant: Fisher Dachs Associates
Structural Engineer: Fast & Epp
Electrical Engineers: Stantec, in association with Vanderweil Engineers
Mechanical Engineers: Yoneda & Associates
Mechanical Design/Build: Southland Industries
Code Consultant: LMDG in association with Koffel Associates
Glazing Consultant: RA Heintges & Associates
Lighting Design: William Lam
Civil Engineers: Wiles Mensch Corporation
General Contractor: Clark Construction
Construction Manager: KCM, Paeonian
Client: Arena Stage
Project Area: 200,000 sqf
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Nic Lehoux, Courtesy of Bing Thom Architects
1999 K Street / Murphy/Jahn
The recipient of the 2010 Washington Building Congress – Craftsmanship Award, 1999 K Street aims to provide a work environment in Washington DC that is responsive to its urban surroundings. Murphy Jahn approached this design focused on filling each work space with natural light. The result is a simple, efficient and sustainable building. 1999 K Street received LEED Gold Certification in 2009. Follow the break for more photographs and the architects description about the design.
Architects: Murphy Jahn
Location: Washington DC, United States
Lead Designer: Helmut Jahn
Associate Architect: WDG Architecture
Structural Engineer: Tadjer Cohen Edelson
Special Structures: Werner Sobek Ingenieure
MEP: GHT Limited
Client: Vornado / Charles E. Smith
Project Area: 309,000 sqf
Project Year: 2009
Photographer: Rainer Viertlboeck
Watha T. Daniel-Shaw Library / Davis Brody Bond
Architects: Davis Brody Bond Aedas
Location: Washington DC, USA
Co-Lead Designers: Peter Cook, J. Max Bond
Project Team: Christiane DeJong, AIA, LEED AP, Nathan Hoyt, FAIA, Cody McNeal, LEED AP, Scott Phillips (no longer with firm), Kelly Powell (no longer with firm), Semaj Tucker (no longer with firm)
Contractor: Forrester Construction Company
Structural & Civil Engineering: Delon Hampton
Lighting Consultant: MCLA
Landscape Architects: Lee and Associates
Project Area: 22,800 sq ft
Budget: $12,000,000
Project Year: 2010
Photographs: Paúl Rivera & Davis Brody Bond Aedas
Howard Road Academy / Studio 27 Architecture
A short while ago, we shared Studio 27 Architecture’s Rincon | Bates House, a contemporary re-conceptualized row house in Washington, D.C. The firm’s latest project, a new charter school for D.C., is designed to accommodate a new approach to teaching. The school has adopted a new pedagogy, known as the Paragon Teaching Method – an interesting choice as the school is situated in the US’s capital. This method replaces the traditional way of learning history and encourages an integrated approach that emphasizes how one idea builds on and evolves into another. “In Paragon, students study history across continents, and gain a profound understanding of the manner in which many ideas develop at the same time in independent cultures unaware of the other’s breakthroughs. Through this, students develop a larger picture of history and the associated interrelationships,” explained a Mosaica Education statement.
More about the school, including more images, after the break.
Benning Library / Davis Brody Bond
Architects: Davis Brody Bond Aedas
Location: Washington DC, USA
Co-Lead Designers: Peter Cook, AIA & J. Max Bond, Jr., FAIA
Project Team: Christiane DeJong, AIA, LEED AP, Jeffrey Harrigan, Nathan Hoyt, FAIA, Andrew McGee, Cody McNeal, LEED AP, Charlie Salinas
Contractor: Forrester Construction Company
Structural/Civil Engineer: Delon Hampton
Geotechnical Engineer: Professional Consulting Corporation
Mechanical Engineer: JVP Engineers
Lighting Consultant: MCLA
Landscape Architect: Lee and Associates
A/V, Security, IT: Polysonics
Elevator Consultant: Williams-Huntt & Associates
Furniture Management: Fahrenheit, LLC
Cost Estimator: S.C. Meyers & Associates, Inc.
Community Outreach: Circle Point
Owner’s Representative: A-1 Construction
Project Area: 22,000 sq ft
Project Cost: $10,000,000
Project Year: 2008-2010
Photographs: Paúl Rivera – archphoto
LEGO Architecture: Towering Ambition / Adam Reed Tucker
Growing up, LEGO were a staple of most children’s playtime activities to create anything from a house to an entire city for hours at a time. The blocks were so captivating that it seems that even as we outgrow our childhood years, we can never outgrow the toys. Previously, we’ve featured projects that have shown James May’s LEGO addiction…his actual house is built from LEGOs! Yet, May isn’t the only one to still show an interest in the children toys – architect Adam Reed Tucker has created 15 large scale buildings from around the world just using the blocks. The buildings are the focal point of the exhibition LEGO® Architecture: Towering Ambition at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC.
More about Tucker after the break.
Rincon | Bates House / Studio 27 Architecture
Architects: Studio 27 Architecture – John K. Burke
Location: 1600 K Street NW, Washington, DC, USA
Design Team: Chris DeHenzel, Hans Kuhn
Contractor: Stalheber Construction Inc.
Age of Structure: 1906
Square footage of job: 1,550 sf
Completion Date: January 2010
Photographer: Anice Hoachlander / Allan Russ
2010 Washington Unbuilt Awards Calls for Entry
The 2010 Washington UNBUILT Awards Program recognizes excellence in projects that to date remain unbuilt – theoretical, academic, and other unbuilt projects. Projects entered will be displayed and judged as part of the DesignDC conference in August 2010. This competition is conducted by the Washington Chapter/AIA and is conducted independently of other awards programs sponsored by the National American Institute of Architects and other AIA components.
Digital submissions must be registered online at www.aiadc.com and received at the offices of the Washington Chapter/AIA between April 15 and June 30, 2010. Seen at Death by Architecture.
Libeskind delivering 2010 Charles Atherton Memorial Lecture
Architect Daniel Libeskind (see his projects here) will discuss the symbolism and architectural expression of commemoration. The Charles H. Atherton Memorial Lecture is part of the National Building Museum Symposium “Power, Architecture and Politics: The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts and the Design of Washington”.
The lecture will take place next Wednesday, May 19 at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street NW Washington, DC from 12:30 pm to 1:30 pm. More information here.
Lake Union Floating Home / Vandeventer + Carlander Architects
Architects: Vandeventer + Carlander Architects
Location: Seattle, Washington, USA
Structural Engineer: Swenson Say Faget
Marine Engineer: Headway Marine
Residence Contractor: dBoone Construction
Float Contractor: Trend Construction
Floor Area: 2,824 SF Interior / 887 SF Exterior
Project Year: 2008
Photographs: Ben Benschneider
Czech Republic Embassy in USA / Chalupa Architekti
Czech architects Chalupa Architekti shared with us their winning proposal for the competition of the new Embassy of Czech Republic in Washington DC, USA.
More images and architect’s description after the break.
National Children’s Museum by Pelli Clarke
Did you know that there are 48 million children under 13 in the US? Well, the new National Children´s Museum is for all of them, inspiring them to care about and improve the world. The design, by renowed architects Pelli Clarke was unveiled a couple of days ago, and includes over 150,000 sqf to house permanent exhibitions by three prominent design firms – Amaze Design, Roto Studios, and Aldrich Pears.
After the break, more images and the green features of this LEED-certified project.
