Neil Flanagan – Page 22

National symbol faces foreclosure

July 3, 2009Localeconomy, foreclosure, mid-mod, monument realty, recession, watergate1 Comment

watergate hotel — Still wearing prison stripes.

Sort of. Although the buildings of the Watergate are owned separately, the buildings other than the office building will always be associated with the 1972 scandal, proving that journalists don’t understand mixed-use complexes and can’t see the masterpiece for the scandal.

Anyway, the hotel portion of the Watergate may be forced into forclosure. The mid-mod landmark, owned by Monument Realty, is crawling with plumbers again as it nears the end of its first major overhaul after 40 years. But Monument has been throwing cash at the building for two years now, hoping to upgrade the facilities, and it has now defaulted on a $70 million loan. The majority shareholder in the loan, PB Capital, wants the money back (understandably), but Monument can’t repay it. PB Capital previously foreclosed on the Esocoff & Associates-designed Dumont building late last year. Speculation persists about the reasons for PB’s pressure, but generally their ties to Lehman Brothers are to blame, since that company doesn’t exist anymore and creditors are demanding assets from wherever it can get them.

It’s unfortunate; PB Capital and Monument have both fueled large chunks of DC’s growth over the past few years and actually financed some good-quality buildings. It may not play out well, but if it does, then it’s time to start associating the Watergate with the countless affairs that have gone on here, or Condoleeza Rice’s separate condo for her piano.

Details, Details: Georgetown Stable

June 29, 2009September 22, 2009Detailsbrick, details, federal architecture, georgetown, historic architecture, horses, ornamentLeave a Comment

Just across Cady’s Alley from the Ukranian Embassy is a little building that I assume served as stables until the 20th century. On the wall are these two equine tondi.

It’s simple, humble ornament that conveys the function of the building. With a little humor, it almost suggests that the horses are popping their somber heads out to have a look around.

Good Architects: McInturff Architects

June 28, 2009July 22, 2009Good Architectsasymmetry, color, context, contrast, design, detail, georgetown, linkedin, modern architecture, postmodern architecture, restoration, steel, symmetry, transparency, wood, zincLeave a Comment

To make an unwarranted generalization, DC architects like their buildings heavy and somber. Even in the recent fad of light and clean glass facades, the buildings have been rather self-serious and blockish looking, a consequence of clients demanding efficient floorplans from architects who themselves were trying to be cool and modern without upsetting the polished and poised look DC has in the collective consciousness and legal structure. This fretful indecision can be a bit like the jeans and sportcoat look – crisp but comfortable, hip but conservative.

McInturff Architects offer a wholly different approach. They’re (post)modern(ist) but a little witty and also aiming for comfort. Their mostly residential oevure consists of excellently-composed buildings that respond coyly to the conditions of the site. In doing so, it avoids falling into limpid styles while also carefully respecting historic and distinctive architecture elsewhere. As for aesthetics, the practice cleverly contrasts gentle and warm elements with bold minimalism in beautiful light-filled spaces. As their projects are primarily private, it’s trickier to see their work than Esocoff & Associates‘. But down in Georgetown, anyone can at least see three buildings, and go into one of those.

Continue reading ➞ Good Architects: McInturff Architects

Great Interview with Ada Louise Huxtable

June 27, 2009Architectureada louise huxtable, Architecture, beauty, criticism, history, modernism, postmodernism, videoLeave a Comment

Click Here (Sorry, no embedding)

Charlie Rose is one of the few people on TV who actually gives any attention to architecture. At the same time, he’s still a dilettante, so it’s interesting to see him gush over buildings while she cooly discharges years of wisdom. There’s some good chatter about Gehry and Mies, and why they’re much better than even their fans think.

North of Tilden: Rock & Roll, P&P, and Lord & Taylor’s

June 27, 2009June 29, 2009Local, Other, planningArchitecture, books, development, fort reno concerts, fort reno park, friendship heights, local boy does good, mazza galerie, music, national realty, politics+prose, sweater set, tobago dc, urbanismLeave a Comment

Three minor news items in the Upper Northwest:

sweater-set — The Sweater Set get ready.

1: The first two Fort Reno concerts were a smashing success, with at least 300 people showing up to listen, eat, and frolic on the grass around the stage. Monday night’s show was a fun mix of different styles. The Sweater Set delivered on their ultra-indie promise to give a twee multi-instrument set. Funk Ark played some solid 70s funk that made the sudden arrival of a Park Police car seem a little too like a cop movie, especially when teens started fleeing the concert with black plastic bags. Lastly Pash led the night out with a harder energy, although the lead singer’s vocals were drowned out in the mix, which took away a lot of the melody.

The second night began with noon:30, who added some soul-like vocals to cool and muddy indie rock. They’re having an EP release party on July 4th. Meow vs. Meow followed up with a harder sound with a lot of strong rhythm. Lastly, the Electricutions played the crowd out, just after the sun had totally left the horizon. There’s another show this Monday and another on Thursday, but more on that later.

friendship-home-plate — Plenty of potential connectivity.

2: National Realty & Development, the owners of Lord and Taylor’s, have announced plans and received approval to build a one-story commercial building on the “home plate” parking lot behind Mazza Gallerie. The Northwest Current’s reporting mentions that the original lease between L&T’s and Mazza called for the parking lot to be used as a car park in perpetuity. Now, the unanimous and quick vote of the council is to turn it into a walkable shopping district, competing with the deluxe stores along Wisconsin Avenue. Could still have some height on top of that, but apparently the 50-year lease ends in 15 years, so development won’t have enough of a payoff for them. Completion of the five stores is expected for early 2011.

3: Politics and Prose, the cultural institution at the border of Tobago and Chevy Chase, announced its schedule for July/August. You can look at the schedule, but here are the authors presenting books on urban issues:

Wednesday, July 8th, 7PM: Alyssa Katz will discuss her book on the foreclosure and mortgage crisis, Our Lot.
Friday July 10th, 7PM: Reloville, by Peter Kilborn, examines large subsets of suburban residents whose livelihoods depend on not forming close ties to the local community and frequently moving on to a new job.
August 11th, 7PM: Jane Jacob’s struggle with Robert Moses, and the issues it was born of, are retold in Anthony Flint’s Wrestling with Moses.

Maybe I’ll see you there. It’s not too accessible, but you can take the L1,2,4 or the M4 from Van Ness and Tenleytown Metro stations, respectively.

Rename or un-name the Bi-Purple County Line Transitway while it’s still possible (or cheap)

June 22, 2009Local, planninganti-neighbors, bethesda, graphic design, humor, light rail, nctpb, new carrollton, planning, purple line, silver spring, strangenessLeave a Comment

So the political wars over the Purple Line largely ended last week, when the light rail option was selected over the BRT one by the National Capital Transportation Board. The decision now frees the transportation enthusiast crowd to fight over petty and superficial little things, like, for example, the name.

The name “Purple Line” was born back to a day when a legitimate discussion was ongoing between an outer heavy rail line, and the inner light rail line. More specifically, it was born when the Bethesda-Silver Spring light rail line was a separate project from the Silver Spring-New Carrollton Purple Line altogether. But they were merged sometime back under Gov. Glendenning (Wikipedia says it was under Erlich, but that contradicts my memories), and suddenly everyone stopped paying attention to the PG County side. Governor Erlich had the decent sense to not oversell the mid-tier transit line, but managed to make the name situation worse. His DOT’s name, the Bi-County “Transitway,” is an unadulterated sample of bureaucraspeak, managing to say absolutely nothing about anything, while also sounding incredibly unexciting. Bi-County? Which counties? Washington and Allegheny? Marin and Cook? Transitway? There’s no meaningful thing that the term “transitway” promises, although it does sound a bit like a moving walkway or even a slidewalk. I hear that when you visit the mausoleum of Kim Il-Sung, they have one of those things.

But calling it the Purple line unfairly associates it with heavy rail lines that operate in a very different way. Mixing the modes damages the legibility of Metro’s human-interface concept, embodied in its map. More importantly, it disassociates the particualr line from its value as part of a larger network of streetcars. When extensions are made elsewhere and it is connected to the Georgia Avenue Streetcar, it will be possible to run trains from Bolling AFB to Bethesda. Rather than hype up one particular service, instead reminding potential riders of the total extent of the system will likely increase ridership.

Frankly, I think any distinctive branding should simply disappear into the area’s future streetcar network. David Alpert had it right in his metro scheme, simply drawing all overground rapid transit purple. But if named it must be, then let’s go with this spiffy dollop of NIMBY fears, presented in the style of Jim Graham:

That Bastard O’Malley/Erlich/Glendenning’s Inflationary-Federal-Fiat-Currency-Funded-Puce-Hued- Two-County-Not-Underground-New-Carrollton-Silver-Spring-Chevy-Chase-Bethesda-Oh-God-Won’t-Someone-Think-of-the-Trees/It’s-a-Combine-Harvester-for-Toddlers-All-Singing-All-Dancing-Thug-Travelator.

Anyone have a better idea? I, for one, can’t wait for the epic battles between the Sharks and the Jetsons.

Fort Reno concerts announced

June 18, 2009Localfort reno, fort reno concerts, fort reno park, local boy does good, music, tenleytownLeave a Comment

The entity that organizes the annual Fort Reno Concert series has finally gone online, and not a moment too soon. The first show is next week, on Monday, June 22nd, showcasing some strong talent from the DC area. First up is Pash, an indie rock band that sounds superficially like Metric, having a good band and a great female vocalist. Second is Funk Ark, a funk group that seems to mass-customize grooves for a post-partisan era. Lastly, but not leastly, the Sweater Set, about whom the only thing to say is: kazoo harmony.

The concerts are an annual event going back at least until the 1950s that let some up-and-coming local bands get some wide exposure. I’ve talked to some old timers who remember sitting out on the grass and listening to blues and folk music after ending their days at Deal and Wilson. It was a good time then, and it’s still a good time. Check it out.

The show starts at 7:15.

DC’s famous! Whoo!

June 13, 2009June 12, 2009Localben's, fun, georgia ave, internet, lady gaga, music, U street, video, wale, WashingtonLeave a Comment

It’s always good to see DC – not Washington, not The Nation’s Capitol – get come visibility. It’s going to be nice living in a city with some cultural capital again.

Veazey Walgreens

June 12, 2009Architecture, LocalArchitecture, connecticut ave, mid-mod, modern architecture, rendering, rust orling, style, van ness, walgreens, Washington3 Comments

veazy walgreens — Arbitrarily messy and unconsidered.

Seen here is the new Walgreens in Van Ness, at Veazey & Connecticut. A big improvement on the gas station that’s there, and an even bigger improvement over the previous plans. In terms of land use, the site would be better as a multistory building, and not as another chain convenience store, but it’s also limited by zoning.

Designed by Rust|Orling, I think the building is a really poor imitation of a mid-mod style, an eyesore in a place where we don’t need any more. R|O are otherwise a good firm with a keen ability to manifest architectural diversity, but it looks like modern architecture is not their strong suite. They’re also restoring the art deco Walgreens in Cleveland Park and are the designers of Potomac Yards.

Construction has not begun, and these are working renderings.

The Future Was Classical

June 12, 2009Architecture, LocalArchitecture, classicism, density, design, irony, leon krier, national mall, speculation, traditionalism, urbanism2 Comments

While I finish writing the Forest Glen essay, please enjoy this alternative scheme to the Mc Millan Commission “Kite” Plan, rendered by arch-traditionalist genius/maniac Leon Krier in 1985.

Theres nothing like a fantastical image to start the weekend — There's nothing like a fantastical image to start the weekend, is there?

You can take a gander at other views of the plan here, although you might be surprised at who owns them. His explanatory drawings and diagrams offer dead-on critiques of the City Beautiful and Modernist planning that have turned central DC into a lifeless pile of stuttering architectural gigantism.