Letter
Dear Mr. Hunter:
In its public meeting of 15 October conducted by videoconference, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed two concept submissions proposed for Fort Lincoln Park in Northeast Washington: the renovation of the park and community pool, and a design for a new community center building. The Commission approved both designs with recommendations for their further development.
Fort Lincoln Park and Playground. The Commission members expressed support for the proposed renovation of the innovative hybrid park-playground designed by the prominent landscape architect, M. Paul Friedberg, for Fort Lincoln Park. They endorsed the decision to retain and reinterpret Friedberg’s sculptural geometric forms and textural material palette within the park’s historic core, commenting that it will encourage active play while also recalling the site’s Civil War fortifications. However, they found a lack of clarity in the documentation of the condition, reuse, and replacement of historic materials; they requested the development of a treatment plan to clearly indicate the amount of rehabilitation versus reconstruction proposed, the changes necessary to accommodate accessibility, and how existing materials will be reused. They also requested the inclusion of an axonometric section drawing or a physical model to represent the proposed impact on Friedberg’s work.
Fort Lincoln Park Community Center. The Commission members expressed support for the proposed design of the new community center, to be located on the north side of the historic park. They characterized the proposal as imaginative and a successful extension of design ideas from the surrounding landscape into the building; they commented that the new building and its site will complement the historic park to the south with a design language that is differentiated from the Friedberg landscape. In the development of the community center site, they advised refining the forms of specific areas near the building—such as the new early childhood playground and the fitness course—to better integrate them with the overall geometries of the building design, suggesting that the roof structure of the new building may inform the topographic vocabulary for the site elements.
The Commission looks forward to further review of both the park landscape and the community center at Fort Lincoln Park. As always, the staff is available to assist in the development of these submissions.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Delano Hunter, Director
D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation
1275 First Street, NE, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20002
cc: Jeff Lee, Lee & Associates
Marnique Heath, STUDIOS Architecture