| Volume 1, No. 3 - March 27, 2007 |
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 Calem-Rubin House, David Jameson Architect, Inc. (more info) |
 Mies van der Rohe's MLK Library Featured Project: Calem-Rubin House |
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The Struggle Over the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library by Matt Shuba If Ludwig Mies van der Rohe was alive today, he might be celebrating his 121st birthday (well, yesterday) by being dragged into the discussion over the future of his Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library in Washington, DC. Neglect, the need for expansion, and perhaps changes in architectural tastes have conspired to ignite a debate over where the central branch of the DC Public Library System should be located. The DC Government supports a position of constructing a new central library on the nearby site formerly occupied by the Convention Center. Costs of the new construction would be offset by leasing out the Mies van der Rohe building to developers with the restriction that they use it "in a manner that preserves the historic character of the building." Others, including The Recent Past Preservation Network, various citizens' groups, and the DC Library Renaissance Project, have taken positions in favor of preserving it as a library. The National Trust in a November 2006 letter to the City Council identified it as a building of "indisputable ... historic significance" and urged the city to identify it as a national landmark and keep it under municipal control. |
 photo by John A. Burns, FAIA |
 Photo courtesy of the DCPL Collection, DC Community Archives, Washingtoniana Division, DC Public Library |
The library was completed in 1972 and represents Mies van der Rohe's only built work in Washington and his only library worldwide. His daughter Georgia van der Rohe describes it as "the most public use of all his creations." But the building has been plagued by a host of problems, from broken elevators and water fountains to deteriorating carpet and ceiling tiles. Librarians complain of damage to books from sunlight through the building's facade of darkened glass. The homeless are often found sleeping in the library's bathrooms and reading areas. It's not clear, however, that relocating the library to a new building will solve any of these problems in the long-term. There is an acknowledged culture of poor maintenance, and the city's library building maintenance budget is one-third of the national average, according to Alexander Padro of The Recent Past Preservation Network. |
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Mies van der Rohe designed the library to be adaptable in the future, constructing it to support an eventual fifth-floor addition. The proposed new library would be 350,000 square feet, 50,000 square feet less than the current building, even without the possible fifth floor. Certainly the major renovations needed present a challenge and inevitably substantial expense, but DC's Chief Financial Officer, Natwar Gandhi, estimates the cost to be no more than the cost of new construction. Certainly retrofitting an older building is not new to Washington; the Capitol, the White House and the Library of Congress have all had to be modernized with climate control, wiring and new elevators. The building itself is not as out of character with DC as some claim; it has a low-slung, monochrome front (in this case black rather than marble white), spanning most of a city block as so many other important buildings. It employs understated lettering to identify itself and has a conservative dignity exceeding many of the city's better-known buildings. It's a building worthy of preservation, and it is not clear that a lease stipulation to private developers that they use it "in a manner that preserves the historic character of the building" will be adequate protection to accomplish this in a trustworthy manner. At a very minimum, every effort should made to keep the building under the control of the city, which in turn has a responsibility to treat it more gracefully than it has in the past. It is the mode right now to bring in high-name recognition architects like Michael Graves and Rem Koolhaas to build grand central libraries for cities to rejuvenate neighborhoods, but it shouldn't be overlooked that this is exactly what Washington did only 35 years ago. Is it already necessary to go this route again? The opinions reflected in this article are those of the author and do not reflect policy of the Chapter, its leadership, nor its members. |
 photo by John A. Burns, FAIA |
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April 10 - AIA Northern Virginia Blueprint for America Event March 30 - Canstruction® Build Out March 31 - Low Impact Development: Tour of Wetland Studies + Solutions, Inc. April 7 - ARE Prep Series: Construction Documents II April 9-14 - National and Virginia Architecture Week in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the AIA. April 9 - Architecture in the Cinema April 10 - Blueprint for America: Women Creating Community Opening April 11 - America's Favorite Architecture Exhibit April 12 - Glenn Brown Lecture & Alexandria Architecture Week Proclamation April 13 - Architecture in the Schools Exhibit Opening Reception April 14 - AIA Family Day April 15 - Walking Tour of Alexandria April 17 - Young Architects' Forum Meeting April 18 - AIA Northern Virginia Lunch Seminar April 27-29 - ARE Prep Series: Structures with David Thaddeus, AIA |
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Calem-Rubin House |
The Calem-Rubin house is an attempt to mediate the scale and material typology of a traditional post-war neighborhood while respecting the client's desire for a modern house. Originally constructed in 1939, the brick colonial style house was rebuilt as a composition of both modern form and timeless materials. You can view additional images from the project here. |
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Advance Engineers / O'Donnell & Naccarato |
Advance Engineers / O’Donnell & Naccarato is a 125-member Consulting Structural Engineering firm providing award-winning structural engineering, parking consultation and façade restoration consulting services. For more than 50 years, the firm has been recognized among architects, owners and developers as an engineering organization committed to professionalism and excellence. In its structural engineering role, the firm places heavy emphasis upon analysis of design and optimum selection of materials to ensure budgetary compliance and quality control. |  |
| For more information, please contact Sean Kennedy, PE or Andrew Katz at (703) 451-5222, or visit us at www.o-n.com. |