DC Metrocentric

Remember last month when there was a fire in the Old Executive Office building next to the White House? Well all the damage has now been repaired and the President and VP took some time to come out and thank the guys who extinguished the conflagration. Thanks to the DCFD’s fast response, major fire and smoke damage to the architectural exterior was prevented.

In a city that is full of so many historically important buildings, fire can be one of the biggest threats. The quick response time of our cities fire department can make the difference between being able to save a historic building or not. Imagine if the city had a fire department back in 1814 that was as good and fast as it is today, maybe the British wouldn’t have done so much damage! More Pics by MikeL-911…

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When neighborhoods don’t regulate architectural standards, interesting things can happen! The Mushroom house in Bethesda is a good example. Though we can’t decide how we feel about it.

We most definitely like the use of environmentally-friendly poly-stucco from a sustainability stand point. In terms of aesthetics though, it really doesn’t fit well into the area, and seems at odds with its surrounding landscape design as well.

I guess we wouldn’t mind driving by it every once in a while and smiling, but don’t think we would want to live across the street. What do you think?

There is so much going on in terms of development along Georgia Ave between the Petworth Metro and Howard University that it’s sometimes difficult to keep track of it all!

IntangibleArts, who has been capturing change around the area for some time, snapped this shot of a lot and boarded up old building on Kenyon Street that will soon be replaced by a new apartment and retail project.

These shots become so interesting to look back on when an area undergoes major transformation, and capturing streetscapes on film is an important part of preservation. We don’t need to save every old building, but capturing it on film is a worthwhile endeavor and it’s always fun to look back and see how far the neighborhood has come, for better or for worse!

The Department of Transportation has been gone from its D and 7th Street SW headquarters building for over 5 months now. Left in its absence, the building is undergoing a major transformation, shedding its old white marble exterior for the more modern and all too popular glass exterior.

The Building will also have a new name, Constitution Center. The most interesting part of the $220 million construction project, is that the developer is keeping the concrete skeleton of the building intact and not doing a complete demolition and rebuild.

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No really, the world’s narrowest house is in our own backyard. The 350sf house can be found in Old Town Alexandria sandwiched between two other row homes.

The house is only 7 feet wide and was built in the 1830s in what was originally the alleyway between the two adjoining houses.

Talk about tight quarters, this house is smaller than even the tiniest efficiencies that builders are trying to pass off as apartments in the area!

With the height restrictions here in DC, the buying and selling of air rights is not something you hear much about, especially compared to other major cities like New York. After all, since buildings are only 10 stories tall to begin with, there is not much room for air rights.

However, the large expanse of the Union Station rail yards is a prime candidate for air rights and has just sold those rights to developer Akridge. The exciting 3 million square foot project planned to be built over the rail yard is being called Burnham Place and will help bring together the area of H street and Union Station.

We see this as a great thing for the area because it will help connect a neighborhood that has always been divided by the rail yard. The only issue is that the Union Station terminal will now be completely subterranean and not open like it is now. We say that’s a small price to pay for reconnecting a neighborhood!

Metro Rail Extension Has Some Skeptics  [WPost]

Architecture Critic Ben Forgey Walks Around DC  [Washingtonian]

Pizza Restaurant Coming to the New ATF Building  [FrozenTropics]

The fine folks at McKissack & McKissack are best known around the area for their meticulous renovations of many of DCs most prominent monuments, but they build new buildings too! One of them is the Gateway Market Center planed for the new Metro Station at Florida and New York Ave.

The building will have 50 residential units with a 200 space garage and be part of a larger complex near the new ugly ATF headquarters and Gallaudet University. It will also include retail and commercial space.

We love looking at architectural renderings, but it’s so hard knowing that many of the great plans by our areas top architectural firms will never get built because of the current market conditions. We put the odds that this one goes up in the next year at 30%

What do you guys think?

Maybe all the Primary Election action has gotten Tucker Carlson itching for some change. 

The MSNBC political correspondent and Dancing with the Stars looser is renovating his 6 bedroom colonial in the Kent neighborhood of DC.

It didn’t take him long to start changing things, Tucker and his wife just purchased the house less than a year ago for $3.8 million.

Apparently the house has been surrounded by contractor vans for the last few days and they have been shuttling in new carpet, furniture, and drywall.  

We suspect that Tucker wants the carpet to match his set of bow-ties!

It is not often that a parcel of land along the Potomac has new development. However the residential site planned for 1011 Lee Highway between I-66 and the George Washington Parkway on the Potomac River is now slated to be developed. 

A site plan has been filed for a 26,555 square foot parcel known as the Schlafman site. Presently zoned S-3A, the site plan requests C-O-2.5 zoning that would allow a 16-story residential tower with 60 units. The site was originally acquired by the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1965 for I-66 right-of-way, but was re-conveyed to the previous owner in 1998.

The folks at SK&I Architectural Design Group put together these great looking renderings. Dispite the difficult access to the site, we imagine this property will have no problem atracting buyers, but those units sure are going to be pricey! One more rendering after the jump…

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The City of the Future competition sponsored by the History channel went off without a hitch Tuesday and we were there capturing it all and enjoying the show.

As we mentioned earlier this week, eight groups of architects assembled at Union Station to compete and assemble a model of their vision for the future of DC. The winner ended up being Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP but the real highlight of the competition was the politically charged presentation by Sorg and Associates (shown above).

Sorg and Associates’ plan included leaving the central Washington monuments intact and building out the surrounding area, like Haines Point and National Airport, as higher density mixed use transportation hubs. Most interesting though was their assessment that the Pentagon would no longer be necessary. Their plans called for using the DoD building as the new Institute for Peace.

We also spent some time speaking with Jose, a representative from the American Institute of Architects, who told us that the competition ”is not merely an exercise in model building…” in fact he mentioned that “some of the ideas from last years competition winner are currently being implemented in the greater Chicago area…” It’s great to hear that competitions like this can create some really relevant and useful innovations! 

Follow the jump for a close up on Sorg and Associates model, plus a bunch more pictures of all the other competitors…

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It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to anyone, but the Capitol Visitors Center, which has been in the making since 1995 is still not finished. Though there has been a lot of progress made, we still are not even in the final stages!

In an effort to make the progress of the project more open to the public, a very nice website was started, as well as the installation of displays (pictured above) to show what’s being done. Unfortunately, the progress and transparency has fallen off a clif over the last few months. 

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Hey DC, want to cast a vote that will actually count? The Washington Business Journal is now accepting nomination for the Best Real Estate Deals of 2007.

The submissions will be accepted till February 1st so hurry and get your nominations in quickly!

Personally we think that the new Nationals Stadium has got to be on the list, as does the Sun Trust building near the White House. What deals do you think should make the list?