Letter
Dear Mr. Yancey:
In its meeting of 20 June, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for a new single-family house to be located at 5906 17th Street, NW (case number SL 19-177). The Commission approved the concept submission and provided the following recommendations for the development of the design.
The Commission members expressed appreciation for the responsiveness to their previous advice, finding that the design of the house and the site has improved. For the refinement of the site design, they observed that the front entrance appears isolated, and they recommended redesigning the front walk to provide a more direct route from the driveway to the entrance; they suggested that this could be accomplished through terracing or by reconfiguring the paved path with a short connecting stair. They recommended reducing the extent of paving at the driveway, perhaps by treating the area outside the lower-level bedroom suite as a partially planted terrace. They also recommended relocating the proposed planted swales to be immediately adjacent to the north and south property lines in order to provide more generous side yards and to establish a clear maintenance boundary with the neighboring properties. In their discussion of the design of the house, they suggested consideration of a common roof profile for all three volumes, as well as a common cladding material of brick while retaining the contrasting color of the central volume.
The Commission looks forward to review of the final submission. As always, the staff is available to assist you with the development of the design.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Harvey Yancey, President
H2 Design Build
4700 14th Street, NW, Suite 3
Washington, DC 20011
cc: Jonathan Harden, Studio 207