Letter
Dear Mr. Anderson:
In its meeting of 16 May, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept submission for the renovation of and additions to the John Eaton Elementary School at 3301 Lowell Street, NW, within the Cleveland Park Historic District. The Commission approved the concept with the following comments.
The Commission members expressed support for the scale and massing of the proposed three-story addition, which would be inserted between the two historic classroom buildings, replacing two earlier additions from the 1930s and 1980s. However, they commented that several aspects of the design would benefit from refinement to make the new addition more respectful of its historic context. While supporting the proposal for large, emphatically framed windows on the addition’s east and west sides, they recommended simplifying the composition of the prominent northern elevation, including the roof profile and the multiple architectural gestures. They also advised further study of the detailing of the hyphens between the addition and the existing buildings. In their support of the proposed materials, they expressed concern that the presented color for the exterior terracotta would be too bright and out of character with the context, and they recommended selecting a more neutral color in order to emphasize the historic buildings.
The Commission looks forward to further review of this project. Please coordinate the next submission with the staff which, as always, is available to assist you.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, FAIA
Secretary
Keith A. Anderson, Director
D.C. Department of General Services
2000 14th Street, NW, 8th Floor
Washington, DC 20009
cc: Bill Spack, Cox Graae + Spack Architects
Andrea Swiatocha, D.C. Public Schools