Letter
Dear Mr. Seagrove:
In its meeting of 15 February, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a final master plan submission for the new Foreign Missions Center on the western portion of the former Walter Reed Army Medical Center campus, at 16th Street and Alaska Avenue, NW. The Commission approved the master plan with the following comments.
The Commission members expressed appreciation for the revisions to the master plan document, particularly for the inclusion of consolidated diagrams that illustrate the specific opportunities and constraints of each chancery site. Observing that each of the campus streets would have a different character, they advised that the lot development guidelines and accompanying diagrams should define the location and design parameters for forecourts and fence types, as appropriate for each street; the forecourts should be included on the diagrams at every scale. They also recommended modifying the guidelines regulating the architectural character of new construction within the Walter Reed historic district to allow for the use of materials that are not currently present.
The Commission looks forward to the resolution of these issues as part of the final approval of the master plan, and to the review of designs for public space improvements and chanceries as they are developed for this important center of diplomatic relations. As always, the staff is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Clifton Seagroves, Deputy Director (Acting)
Office of Foreign Missions
United States Department of State
Washington, DC 20520
cc: Richard Clarke, EYP Architecture & Engineering
Elliot Rhodeside, Rhodeside & Harwell