Letter
Dear Mr. Hanlon:
In its meeting of 17 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design submission for a new parking garage, G2, to be located north of the stadium proposed for the site of the former Robert F. Kennedy stadium, along the Anacostia River at East Capitol Street. The Commission did not take an action, providing the following comments for the development of the design.
In their discussion, the Commission members expressed general support for the proposed design, located along the Metrorail viaduct and adjacent to existing and proposed recreational facilities. However, they found that the design for this garage has a heavier architectural treatment than the alternatives proposed for G1, and they recommended making its elements lighter and incorporating decorative spandrels in the G2 facades to make it more similar to G1. They also suggested adding fenestration or using a lighter gray color to relieve the heavy appearance of the stair towers on the north and south facades. In addition, they suggested adding an architectural feature to the top of the building in order to articulate the massing of the long facade. Finally, regarding the proposed exterior lighting, they observed that outlining the building with surfacemounted fixtures was not appropriate, and they instead recommended uplighting the vertical piers from the pedestrian bridge.
The Commission looks forward to further review of the concept design for this project. Please coordinate the next submission with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Brian Hanlon RFK Project Executive
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 317
Washington, DC 20004
cc: Maurice Walters, Maurice Walters Architects
Matthew Bell, Perkins Eastman
Jen Nersessian, National Park Service
Diane Sullivan, National Capital Planning Commission