Letter
Dear Dr. Elias:
In its meeting of 18 September, the Commission of Fine Arts reviewed a concept design for a new pedestrian plaza, the second phase of the Flowering Tree Walk project. While the Commission members supported the effort to rehabilitate the portion of Meadow Road to create a new plaza between the Administration Building and the National Herb Garden, they did not approve the project as shown. They asked that simpler paving patterns for the plaza’s surface be developed, such as by eliminating the cross-banding in the large areas of cobbles and reducing the width of the perimeter border.
The Commission looks forward to the next review of this project. As always, the staff is available to assist you and the design team with the next submission.
Sincerely,
/s/Thomas E. Luebke, AIA
Secretary
Dr. Thomas S. Elias, Director
U.S. National Arboretum
United States Department of Agriculture
3501 New York Avenue, NE
Washington, DC 20002-1958
cc: Kevin Tunison, U.S. National Arboretum
Scott J. Rykiel, Mahan Rykiel Associates Inc.