Letter
Dear Mr. Fisher:
In its public meeting of 19 February conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design submission for a new addition to the White House, replacing the East Wing, to accommodate a ballroom and other official uses. Expressing enthusiastic support for the project, the Commission approved the submission as a final design with the following comments.
The Commission members reiterated their prior comments about the importance and necessity of the ballroom as a venue that is commensurate with the global prominence of the White House and the United States. They again cited many compelling issues of national representation, event management, logistics, and security that call for a facility of this scale, and they noted the long history of proposals since the nineteenth century to provide for a space that can accommodate events appropriate for the American presidency. They characterized the proposed design as beautiful, and they expressed appreciation to the president and the project team for removing the pediment on the south side of the ballroom, which better balances the addition within the context of President’s Park.
The Commission members thanked the project team for the presentation of many views of the project within the context of the White House Grounds, and they found the project to be compatible with the historic Residence and the adjacent Treasury Building. They praised the proposed landscape design, particularly of the garden court to the west of the ballroom on the site of the Jacqueline Kennedy Garden, and they recognized Mrs. Kennedy’s pivotal role in the improvement of the White House property. For the landscape, they also encouraged the use of evergreen plantings to screen the southeast and southwest corners of the addition.
With this action of final approval, the Commission has concluded its review of this project and looks forward to the completion of this transformational project at the White House.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Joshua Fisher, Assistant to the President
Director, Office of Management and Administration
Executive Office of the President
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
cc: John Stanwich, National Park Service
Shalom Baranes, Shalom Baranes Associates
Marcel Acosta, National Capital Planning Commission