| Volume 1, No. 11 - September 13, 2007
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Rebuilding After 9/11 : Where We Are Six Years Later
by Matt Shuba
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World Trade Center 7 leads a lonely life as the only tower rebuilt so far at the World Trade Center plaza in lower Manhattan. Daniel Libeskind was selected to design the masterplan for the site in early 2003, which calls for three towers along Greenwich Street along with WTC 5, a memorial, a transit station and the flagship Freedom Tower.
But so far, the Skidmore Owings + Merrill-designed WTC 7 is the only one standing; in fact the only one even under vertical construction. This can be explained by the fact that WTC 7 was not part of "ground zero," and in fact located across Vesey Street from the main site. The project began in 2002 and was completed last year, and was not part of Libeskind's masterplan.
A great deal of patience was put into the planning for the sake of sensitivity to the site. Environmental cleanup continues in the area, and the question loomed as to when people would be ready to return to the area. Another setback came a month ago when the former Deutsche Bank building, just across from the site, suffered a fatal fire.
But according to the Alliance for Downtown New York, as reported in Newsday, the commercial vacancy rate for downtown is down to 6.9 percent and more than 1,700 new apartments were built last year.
And now this year, the first footings for the Freedom Tower were laid in April to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Empire State Building. Developer Larry Silverstein and project architect David Childs of SOM predict that the tower will rise from the ground and begin climbing up in 2008, and will be ready for occupancy in 2011.
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Rendering of future World Trade Center area
Public domain image
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Santiago Calatrava is designing a new transit hub for the site, and Libeskind is designing the memorial, Reflecting Absence. Other firms retained to build the remaining buildings on the site include Foster and Partners, Maki and Associates, and Richard Rogers Partnership. It is estimated that the last of the buildings constituting the World Trade Center will be completed by 2012.
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Volunteers Needed for the Greener Greenbelt Project
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Sponsored by the AIA Potomac Valley Chapter as their AIA150 Blueprinting Project, the Greener Greenbelt Design Charrette is scheduled for Friday, September 28 through Sunday, September 30. Join fellow architects, land planners, landscape architects, engineers and community members and volunteer for three days, two days, one day, or even just a part of one day.
The Greener Greenbelt Initiative is a working partnership between the Potomac Valley Chapter of AIA and Greenbelt Homes Inc., the housing cooperative that owns and operates Greenbelt's original New Deal-era homes. The purpose of the initiative is to help ensure that the housing co-op and the central area of old Greenbelt will continue to serve as a national model for livable communities by the time Greenbelt reaches its 100th anniversary in 2037.
The charrette, at the Greenbelt Elementary School, will facilitate a dialogue among residents, business owners, civic leaders and design professionals to develop creative solutions to help Greenbelt preserve the community’s character, serve its residents, make its homes more energy efficient and protect the area’s lake, forest and open spaces.
Visit www.greenergreenbelt.org for additional information about Greenbelt and the various ways you can volunteer to help this effort. For questions and to volunteer, contact Melanie Hennigan, AIA, LEED AP, President of the Potomac Valley Chapter at (301) 523-0007.
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2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard
Rockville, MD
Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya |
Designed to meet USGBC's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold-level certification, the Super Class-A 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard has been designed by Kishimoto.Gordon.Dalaya (KGD), and is being co-developed by The Tower Companies and Lerner Enterprises. The Tower Companies is the 18th largest purchaser of Green Energy in the US, and the largest green developer in the Washington, DC area. Lerner Enterprises is Washington, DC's largest private real estate developer.
2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard will utilize a variety of green-building strategies towards achieving Gold certification, including recycled-content and recyclable materials, energy-efficient, state-of-the-art air quality systems, and abundant natural day-lighting to reduce energy demand. 100% of the electricity to be used will be purchased from wind-generated power sources. A large portion of the site has been dedicated to a 14-acre woodland preserve. With scheduled completion in June of 2008, 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard will be the future headquarters building for its co-developers, The Tower Companies and Lerner Enterprises. KGD is also providing full interior design services for The Tower Companies new corporate headquarters, and fitness center and café within the building.
The Tower Oaks planned community was originally developed by The Tower Companies, and is located along Interstate 270 in Rockville, Maryland. The 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard building is part of a 600,000 SF, mixed-use complex consisting of an office building, a business-class conference hotel, a 75,000 SF spa and fitness center, and 200 ultra-luxury condominiums. 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard builds on the environmental-design precedent established by KGD and The Tower Companies with their award winning Tower Building, located in the same Tower Oaks development.
KGD designed the Tower Building, completed in 2001. The Tower Building was the recipient of the 2003 MD/DC NAIOP Award of Excellence for Best Suburban Office High-Rise, the 2002 TOBY Award for Best Green Building, and was featured in Big & Green Exhibition at the National Building Museum. Currently, KGD has begun design for Tower III & IV, the next phase of the Tower Oaks development. Tower III & IV will be a 427,000 SF Super Class-A office building complex designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
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September 19 - Lunch Seminar - Designing a Vertical Path to Safety: Precast Concrete Stair Systems
Noon - 1:15p, at the Chapter House, 205 S Patrick Street. The presentation will examine building safety codes related to egress stairs and the degree to which these stair systems comply with codes. It will evaluate the safest and best method to travel from floor to floor in multistory buildings of different structural types and will consider how a vertical path to safety can be designed with precast stair systems. Presented by Castcon-Stone, Inc. 1.25 AIA/CES HSW LUs. For reservations, e-mail reservations@aianova.org.
September 23 + 24 - Inter-School Design Competition
September 23 - Design Charrette, 11:00a-5:00p
September 24 - Awards Ceremony, 5:30p
At the National Building Museum. Teams of architecture students from The Catholic University of America, Howard University, Virginia Tech’s Washington Alexandria Architecture Center, and the University of Maryland participate in a day-long design competition held in the Museum’s Great Hall. Each team consists of one student from each school. Museum visitors can view this charrette—an intensive design session—in progress, as the teams work on a design project. Winners of the juried competition will be announced at an awards ceremony at the Museum. Free; registration not necessary. For additional information, visit: http://www.nbm.org/Events/Calendar/Lectures_Symposia.html.
September 28 - Small Firm Roundtable - Residential Design/Build and Custom Residential Construction
Noon – 1:00p, at the Chapter House, 205 South Patrick Street, Alexandria. Chris Landis, AIA will speak about residential architecture with an emphasis on addition/renovation projects. He will provide insight into the formation of an architect-led design/build firm, management practices throughout the design and construction phases, and the challenges of creating exceptional architecture while managing a client’s budget. 1 AIA/CES LU. $5 collected at the event for pizza and drinks. Registration required. To register, e-mail reservations@aianova.org.
September 29 - Architect Registration Exam: Graphic Divisions Review
8:30a – 6:00p, at the University of Maryland School of Architecture, College Park, Maryland. This day-long seminar offers an overview of the Graphic Divisions of the Architect Registration Exam and is designed to prepare interns for the successful completion of the ARE. All three Graphic Divisions – Site Planning, Building Planning & Building Technology – will be reviewed. Pertinent information regarding each division will be covered, as well as ARE testing, instructional information and sample vignettes. For more information, view the article above.
October 3 - Architects + Designers Light the Night
6:00 - 8:00p, at the Haworth Showroom, 575 7th Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC. Join colleagues in an evening of great wines and tasty hors d’oeurves to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. There will be a silent auction with several items specifically selected for Architects + Designers. The evening is hosted by Geier Brown Renfrow Architects. Minimum donation of $30. For information and reservations, visit www.active.com/donate/ltnAlexan/adltn or contact Eliza Engle at (703) 836-9775. Reservations need to be made by September 28th.
October 6 - Tour of George Washington’s Mount Vernon Distillery
10:00 - 11:00a, sponsored by AIA Northern Virginia’s Women in Architecture and Historic Resources committees. After a two-year reconstruction effort, George Washington’s 1798 whiskey distillery opened to the public in March 2007. Besides interpreting Washington’s distilling operation, the project needed to meet several other criteria, including complying with current code and zoning requirements, providing access for disabled persons, accommodating interpretive facilities, and meeting local architectural and historic preservation guidelines. It features 5 working stills, a flume bringing water to the distillery from the nearby mill race, and interpretive displays. Tour presented by Katie Slattery and James Thompson of Quinn Evans|Architects. 1 AIA/CES LU. $10; requires pre-payment/registration to the chapter. Contact the Chapter House at (703) 549-9747 or reservations@aianova.org.
October 9 - AIA Northern Virginia Board Meeting
4:30p-6:00p, at the Chapter House, 205 South Patrick Street, Alexandria. For additional information, contact the Chapter House at aianova@aianova.org.
October 11 - Troubleshooting the Building Envelope: Problem Solving and Problem Prevention
9:30a - 4:00p, at the Beatley Library, 5005 Duke Street, Alexandria. The workshop will provide information on preventing moisture intrusion and vapor transmission in the building envelope, and will cover causes and solutions for water and vapor transmission in concrete slabs, critical roofing details to prevent moisture intrusion, sealants and adhesives for prevention of air and water infiltration, and sealers and water repellents for protection of concrete surfaces. 5 AIA/CES HSW LUs. Members $65 before September 22, $75 after; nonmembers $85 before September 22, $95 after. Prepaid registration required. For more information visit the Chapter website or look for the insert in the upcoming newsletter.
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