MOTB Construction Permit Issued

A building permit was recently issued for construction of the Museum of the Bible, located at 4th and D streets at the former Washington Design Center. There was a demolition ceremony for the project back in February and since then a 1980s addition has been demolished. It will be replaced with a new structure made of thin brick made to look like stacks of manuscripts. The 430,000 square-foot Museum of the Bible, which is scheduled to open in 2017, will include three exhibit floors that will tell the impact, narrative, and history of the Bible. A construction webcam has been set up looking towards the Virginia Avenue side of the site. 

Construction photo from early May.

Rendering courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

Museum of the Bible Demolition

Museum officials, architects, contractors, and the media gathered today in a tent on Virginia Avenue to mark the start of demolition to make way for Museum of the Bible at 300 D Street. Although demolition has been underway at the site since the last tenants moved out in December, today’s ceremonial event included demolition of a portion of the building. 

According to Cary Summers, president of Museum of the Bible there are currently about 100 workers on-site, but over the coming months of demolition, that number will increase to 500-600 workers. Clark Construction will build the museum and SmithGroupJJR is the lead architect.

The 430,000 square-foot Museum of the Bible will include three exhibit floors that will tell the impact, narrative, and history of the Bible. C&G Partners, BRC Imagination Arts, and The PRD Group will be designing each of these floors, respectively, while Jonathan Martin Creative will recreate a replica of a first-century Nazareth village. There will also be exhibit space for affiliated museums and libraries as well as space for a traveling exhibit gallery. The $400 million museum project also includes a one-story addition to the adjacent Washington Office Center, adding space for the museum’s research program, which include a reference library, research labs, and an academic conference center. 

SmithGroupJJR’s design for the museum calls for the restoration of the historic building which once served as a refrigeration warehouse (and most recently as the Washington Design Center). The 1980’s-era addition to the historic building will be demolished and replaced with a new structure made of thin brick made to look like stacks of manuscripts. The front entrance to the museum will be on 4th Street and will be flanked by large bronze panels and stained glass depicting abstract biblical manuscripts. Former loading bays along D Street will be converted into large windows where passersby can see inside the museum. On the ground level, the grand lobby will have a 200-foot LED ceiling that can display a variety of images. A two-level glass enclosed rooftop gallery addition will offer views to the north of the National Mall and the Capitol. A biblical garden and restaurant will also be located here, as well as a 500-seat performing arts theater and a 500-seat ballroom. Topping off the building will be a large green roof – the museum will seek LEED certification. 

There will be two dining areas in the museum – one will be an industrial style café on the mezzanine level overlooking the lobby that pays homage to the origins of the building’s former use as a warehouse and the second will be a restaurant offering foods of the Bible in a biblical garden setting on the rooftop gallery.

Museum of the Bible will include over 40,000 artifacts from the Green Collection, which has been collected by the Green family, owners of the Hobby Lobby retail chain.

The museum is scheduled to open in the fall of 2017. 

Renderings courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

Former Washington Design Center Up for Historic Nomination

The Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) will evaluate plans for a new, private Museum of the Bible planned in the former Washington Design Center building at 4th and D streets on July 10. The museum is applying for historic designation for the building, hence the involvement of HPRB. According to the landmark application, 300 D Street is an eight-story building that was originally built in 1923 in the Neo-Classical Revival style (an addition to the east was built in 1983 when it became the Washington Design Center) for the Terminal Refrigerating & Warehousing Company for use as housing cold and dry storage warehouses, an ice manufacturing plant, and the company’s offices. Trains used to enter the building on the 4th Street side on a spur line to deliver goods and loading docks were located on the D Street and Virginia Avenue sides. An interesting note about the shape of the original building – a notch was created on the southeast corner along Virginia Avenue because row houses were there when it was originally built. 300 D Street is the only large, Neo-Classical-style warehouse still standing in the District.

View from corner of 4th and D streets.

SmithGroupJJR has designed the museum to restore some elements of the building that were lost when it was converted to the Washington Design Center and create a new addition to replace the 1983 version, as well as build a large glass atrium above the existing building with a green roof. The museum will be approximately 400,000 square feet, about 30,000 SF larger than the existing building and addition. The main entrance will be located on 4th Street where the train used to enter the building and the loading dock bays that were on D Street will be retrofitted with windows and an open framed canopy above. The new addition will be made of oversized handmade bricks and have been designed to look like stacked bibles. 

On the first floor of the museum, there will be a lobby, museum shop, orientation desk, media wall, and security station. A grand staircase in the new addition will lead to the other floors. Above the first floor is a mezzanine level that will have a coffee shop and multipurpose room. The second through fourth floors will contain permanent exhibit space, while the fifth floor will contain an affiliated museum and performance hall. The sixth floor will have conference space, restaurant, lounge, and biblical garden. Special exhibits and museum support will be in the first basement level and space will be carved out in a second basement level for storage and staff support. The adjacent office building will also receive a one-story addition for an institute with a conference hall, offices, library, education center, and housing units for visiting scholars. 

Planned addition on office building at 3rd and D streets.

If approved, the museum is looking to open in 2017. 

Renderings courtesy of SmithGroupJJR

SW Ecodistrict Draft Released

The National Capital Planning Commission released the SW Ecodistrict Draft Plan last week.  The plan proposes to transform a 15-block predominantly federal precinct located just south of the National Mall into a highly sustainable, walkable neighborhood that connects the Mall and the Southwest Waterfront, and becomes a showcase of sustainable urban development and the site for new nationally significant memorials, museums, and events.  The proposed SW Ecodistrict comprises almost 110-acres bounded by Independence Avenue, Maine Avenue, 12th Street, and 4th Street.  I've written about the process on several occasions, so I won't go into much detail here about what the plan contains, but following are some highlights:


The plan suggests to re-create and connect streets throughout the Ecodistrict, including Maryland Avenue, Virginia Avenue, and 9th Street.  New pedestrian connections will also be created throughout.


The draft plan proposes four focus areas that would transform the area:

• Independence Quarter: A mixed-use community anchored by a new U.S. Department of Energy headquarters. The Forrestal Headquarters would be redeveloped with uses including residential, hotel, museums, and office.
• Maryland Avenue: A restored urban boulevard centered on a re-imagined park and an expanded L’Enfant Station intermodal center.  The DC Department of Planning released a draft plan for the Maryland Avenue corridor that was approved by the DC Council earlier this year.

An expanded L'Enfant commuter rail station.

• 10th Street and Banneker Park: An inviting civic corridor connecting the National Mall to the SW Waterfront, highlighted by Banneker Park—a nationally significant cultural destination. The demolition of the Forrestal complex would open views along 10th Street to the Smithsonian Castle.

Rendering of the 10th Street corridor.

A redesigned Banneker Park.

• Southwest Freeway: A collection of private mixed-use development and solar panels built on air rights over the SW Freeway. A deck over I-395 would stretch from 12th Street to 9th Street while solar panels would be installed from 9th Street to east of 7th Street.

Aerial view of the SW Ecodistrict.

The public comment period on the draft plan will last until September 10.  If you want to learn more about the draft plan, there will be a public meeting tomorrow from 6:30pm - 8:30pm at 1100 4th Street, second floor.

Renderings courtesy of the National Capital Planning Commission

Forensics Lab Delayed?

According to this article from The Examiner, Council member Mendelson held a hearing today to find out the progress towards creating the Consolidated Forensics Laboratory in Southwest. From the article: "D.C. has set aside tens of millions of federal and local dollars to build itself what officials are promising will be a top-notch crime lab. But the administration scrapped early plans to move the lab to 225 Virginia Ave. SE despite a rent-free lease for the first year of the space." However, the article incorrectly states that the 1st District HQ will move to the Virginia Avenue site. Actually, the 1st District HQ is moving to the former Bowen Elementary School on M Street. There is a construction fence around the school and from what I could tell from walking by the site last week, the retrofit has begun. In fact, this press release from the DC Government from last Wednesday states the following: "Mayor Adrian M. Fenty showcased construction progress the city has made in completing renovating Bowen Elementary School, the relocation site for the Metropolitan Police Department’s First District Station. Renovations at Bowen ES are being completed by the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) who began working on the project in July 2008. Bowen is currently undergoing the last stage of demolition and is expected to be completed by Jan. 2009." The Consolidated Forensics Laboratory is scheduled to be complete in 2011. You can read my post from June about this project.

Details on Southwest Rectangle Portion of Framework Plan

If one walks along 10th Street SW today south of Independence Avenue, it would be hard to know due to the configuration of the street that at either end of the corridor lays the Smithsonian Castle and Banneker Overlook. Elsewhere in Southwest, Maryland Avenue is a disjointed boulevard blocked for the most part by railroad tracks. Empty lots and unused buildings litter the landscape. Freeways and expressways crisscross the area and disrupt the neighborhood urban fabric. These consequences of urban renewal in Southwest will change dramatically over the next few decades if the plans from the recently released National Capital Framework Plan are implemented. On July 10th, the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) in conjunction with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts released the draft plan for a 90-day public review and focuses on four main areas surrounding the National Mall – Southwest Rectangle, Northwest Rectangle, Federal Triangle, and East Potomac Park. The main areas of interest in the Southwest Rectangle redevelopment include 10th Street, Maryland Avenue, redeveloping existing sites with infill development, and restoring the street grid by decking freeways.

10th Street & Banneker Overlook

The draft plan calls for 10th Street Southwest to become a mixed use corridor with shops, residences, offices, restaurants, and a memorial at the intersection of 10th Street and a rebuilt Maryland Avenue – most likely to be the site of the Benjamin Banneker Memorial. The Forrestal Building, home to the Department of Energy, currently straddles 10th Street at Independence Avenue and blocks the view of the Smithsonian Castle. Under the draft plan, the Forrestal Building complex would be redeveloped to allow multiple uses. At the southern end of 10th Street, a new major museum would be built at Banneker Overlook, helping to draw people from the National Mall to the new Southwest Waterfront below via a grand staircase.

Here's the current view of 10th Street north towards the Smithsonian Castle. Notice that the Forrestal Building blocks most of the castle from view.

Maryland Avenue

Maryland Avenue would be restored between 9th Street and 14th Street by covering the railroad tracks that currently run in the avenue’s right-of-way. As a result, Maryland Avenue would link the U.S. Capitol to the Jefferson Memorial. Under the draft plan, Reservation 113, a patch of land between 9th Street & 7th Street, would become the public space it was meant to be under Pierre L’Enfant’s original plan for Washington. Neighboring Virginia Avenue would be enhanced by creating a slender railroad trestle and enhancements to the VRE station would allow two-way traffic on that rail line.

Here's the L'Enfant Plaza VRE Station platform alongside Virginia Avenue.

Redevelop Existing Sites

Buildings such as the Liberty Loan Building near the 14th Street Bridge, the Whitten Building at the Department of Agriculture campus, and the unused Arts and Industries building at the National Mall could be redeveloped as museums or other cultural institutions. Other sites scattered around the Southwest Rectangle, including parking lots, vacant land, and decked over portions of I-395 (the Center Leg Freeway) could yield new mixed-use development opportunities.

Restoring the Street Grid

In addition to decking over the Center Leg Freeway near the U.S. Capitol complex, the draft plan calls for decking the Southeast-Southwest Freeway west of 7th Street so F, 9th, 11th, and 12th Streets can be re-established in the neighborhood. The 9th Street tunnel would be decked between Independence Avenue and D Street to re-establish 9th Street. In the long-run, the 14th Street bridges would be rebuilt, with tunnels approaching those bridges.

A copy of the National Capital Framework Plan is available on the NCPC website. The public review and comment period for the draft plan will extend until October 10, 2008.