Letter
Dear Ms. Trowbridge:
In its meeting of 17 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed concept designs for a new retail pavilion and the renovation of the existing police station at the National Zoo. The Commission approved the proposals with the following comments and recommendations.
The Commission members commended the design of the new pavilion as a welcoming addition to the lower campus of the zoo. In contrast, they expressed regret that the police station would continue to be a more enclosed building, with relatively few windows; they recommended adding more colorful plantings around the building. More generally, they encouraged relating the proposed landscape design for these buildings to the historic design of the three-quarter-mile-long Olmsted Walk, the primary circulation route through the zoo. They also commented that the plant list appears to be thorough and carefully edited.
The Commission looks forward to further review of this project. As always, the staff is available to assist you with the next submission.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Ann Trowbridge
Associate Director for Facilities
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012, MRC 511
Washington, DC 20013-7012
cc: Joe Cellucci, Cho Benn Holback + Associates Kurt Parker, Rhodeside & Harwell