Letter
Dear Ms. O'Dell:
In its meeting of 18 November, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed the final design submission from the National Park Service for turf and soil reconstruction, a new irrigation system, and new granite curbs and gutters for the three center lawn panels on the National Mall between 3rd and 7th Streets. The Commission expressed enthusiasm for the program to improve the Mall landscape and approved the proposal with the following comments.
The Commission members observed that the proposed ventilation grilles and access hatches located above the pump room were awkwardly related to the overall design of the pedestrian space between the east-west walks. They recommended rotating these elements ninety degrees so they are aligned north-south following the direction of the immediate pedestrian movement, and placing them adjacent to the edge if possible or otherwise locating them symmetrically in the center of the space. As design work proceeds on the Mall landscape, the Commission encourages the project team to consider the appearance of the walks as a whole, and to resolve the disparity in treatment between the granite curbs on the inner lawn panels and the unfinished edges of the outer tree panels.
The Commission members look forward to the next phase of this project. As always, the staff is available for further consultation on the details.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, AIA
Secretary
Margaret O'Dell, Regional Director
National Park Service, National Capital Region
1100 Ohio Drive, SW
Washington, DC 20242
cc: Peter May, National Park Service
Suzette Goldstein, HOK