Letter
Dear Mr. Hunter:
In its public meeting of 21 November conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for the phased addition of two buildings to the campus of the District of Columbia Correctional Treatment Facility, located at 1900 Massachusetts Avenue, SE. The Commission supported the general planning and massing of the project but did not take an action, expressing concern about the character, materials, and detailing of the buildings and site, and provided the following comments for the development of the concept design.
The Commission members commended the project’s goals to incorporate evolving philosophical approaches to criminal justice in the planning and design of the facility, and to create a meaningful connection to the community as envisioned in the Hill East master plan. In general, they commented that a correctional facility, as a public building, carries significant symbolic meaning; while acknowledging the need for security, they said the proposed design may appear too much like a prison where the inhabitants are hidden from society, and they recommended that it be designed more deliberately to express its human function as a residential building and a place of care. Accordingly, they expressed concern that the design character of the proposed correctional facility, in contrast to the project goals, may appear defensive and possibly menacing over time. They expressed appreciation for the laciness of the enveloping scrim as illustrated in the renderings but questioned whether it might appear too cage-like in reality. Furthermore, while they supported a warm palette for the scrim as presented, they noted that the Cor-Ten steel proposed darkens with age and would not retain the desired golden copper hue shown in the renderings. They also observed that the projecting tops of the columns supporting the scrim may give the disconcerting impression of spikes attached to a fence. Finally, they requested more information about the types and uses of opaque and translucent glass in the building enclosure behind the scrim, and they recommended that additional vision glass be added at the upper floors if possible.
For the site design, the Commission members expressed concern that the proposed heavily articulated series of planters and seating areas along the sidewalk would appear overbearing and confusing at the pedestrian level, detracting from the overall streetscape in this new segment of Massachusetts Avenue, and more suited for an area of very high pedestrian traffic. They recommended significant simplification of this frontage to be more continuous and less broken, with a more consistently calm treatment along the length of the two buildings, punctuated by fewer concentrated areas for sitting and gathering. While they supported the proposal for a generally robust planting scheme in the elevated planters, they recommended simplifying the layering of plant materials.
The Commission looks forward to further review of this important project at the concept phase. Please continue consulting on the development of the design with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Delano Hunter, Director
D.C. Department of General Services
3924 Minnesota Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20019
cc: David Cheney, CORE Architecture
Thomas Faust, D.C. Department of Corrections