Architecture

NPR – Moving on Up

By Prince Of Petworth

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635 Massachusetts Ave, NW

From Chinatown (above) to NoMa (below).

From NPR’s website:

The new NPR headquarters comprises two integrated blocks: the bulk of a historically preserved four-story 1920’s era warehouse and a new, modern seven-story office block that rises behind. Designed by the Washington D.C.-based architectural firm Hickok Cole, and built by Balfour Beatty Construction, the building contains approximately 330,000 square feet of above-grade space and 440,000 total square feet. It will accommodate NPR’s DC-based staff of approximately 767 that is currently spread across three buildings – 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, and two nearby leased locations.

The heart of the building is a two-story open newsroom with broadcast and production studios to accommodate NPR’s round-the-clock schedule. NPR’s news, music, programming and digital staff are co-located on these floors. In addition to serving as center for NPR’s operations, the building is also home to the Public Radio Satellite System, an independent distribution system that moves public radio content across the country.

Visitors will enter the building through a landscaped plaza. Upon entering they will find an exhibit and a multimedia mosaic dedicated to NPR’s story, a performance studio that seats up to 250, and the NPR Commons, an events space for small groups and site of the NPR Shop. NPR expects to host many public events in the new headquarters.

The 1111 North Capitol building is expected to earn LEED Gold certification; environmentally sensitive features include a green roof and highly efficient cooling system to support energy conservation, and a system that captures street run-off within the tree-pits adjacent to North Capitol Street.

NPR established its current headquarters at 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, in 1994, before Gallery Place became a prime development zone and popular destination. Since then, NPR’s stature as a media organization and its popularity have grown rapidly and its weekly audience doubled.

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1111 North Capitol Street, NE

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Checking Out Awesome Row House Roof Decks Vol. 4

By Prince Of Petworth

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You can see Vol. 3 here.

Our roofdeck in Columbia Heights.  It took approximately a week to build, and uses a stairwell from the main floor up to a small loft area for access.  Instead of using wood, which must be treated and can stress the roof unevenly, it uses VAST composite permeable pavers and Shoreline vinyl railings, which weigh less and are easier to maintain.  Because the roof is nearly flat, we have two in-roof drains installed, which carry water under the decking to downspouts.

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Checking Out Awesome Row House Roof Decks Vol. 3

By Prince Of Petworth

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You can see Vol. 2 here.

Hard to say just how much this cost or how long it took as this was part of a much larger renovation project over a period of several months. The deck occupies the back of our house (a new master bedroom suite that opens to the deck occupies the front half). Heat & sun are major issues so we had a 6′ overhang built out from the roof, and thank goodness we did. We love the deck and since we have direct access from a main living area we get a lot of use out of it.

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Checking Out Awesome Row House Roof Decks Vol. 2

By Prince Of Petworth

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My husband and I purchased a Columbia Heights row house in 2009 that came with a detached garage but no green space, so we applied for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment and worked with DC Greenworks to design and install a living roof deck on top of our garage. See the attached photos for a look at the garage before and after the roof deck installation.

The 600 square foot living roof deck includes a flagstone seating area (perfect for coffee and mojitos), 300 square feet of perennial beds, an herb garden, extensive sedum ground cover, and a LOT of happy wildlife. This once unused and ugly garage roof is now actively employed as our back yard, while at the same time reducing storm water runoff by nearly 400 gallons in a typical rain storm.

Apply for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment here.

Learn more about DC Greenworks’ green roof design and installation services here.

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Checking Out Awesome Row House Roof Decks Vol. 1

By Prince Of Petworth

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A readers sends this one from Petworth:

“Finished this on the 4th of July last year, time to watch the awesome PW fireworks. Took 1 week, with 2 people, when it was in the high 90s every day. At night we see bats flying through the big oaks in the alley, eating mosquitos that seem so far away. During the day peregrine falcons swoop down overhead. It’s like another world.”

Dear PoPville – Looking for Examples of Awesome Row House Roof Decks

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear PoPville,

I’m thinking about adding a roof deck to my rowhouse and I’d love to see what others have done.”

If anyone is willing to share photos of their roof decks, please send a couple of photos to princeofpetworth(at)gmail and include as many details as you feel comfortable sharing like cost, contractor, time it took to build etc. All who enter get free PoPville t-shirts.

E.L. Haynes Public Charter School Opens New High School in Petworth

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo via EL Haynes

From a press release:

On Thursday, March 7, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School celebrates a tremendous milestone for our city: The Grand Opening of E.L. Haynes High School. Taking place at the newly-completed campus located at 4501 Kansas Avenue, NW, the event includes welcoming remarks from DC Mayor Vincent Gray, words from Councilmember Muriel Bowser, the perspectives of one of our E.L. Haynes High School students, and a keynote address from Maria Gomez, Founder and President of Mary’s Center and a recent winner of the Presidential Citizen’s Medal.

Washington, DC faces an education crisis. In our city, fewer than half of high school students graduate within five years. Fewer than one third of our students attend college within 18 months of graduation, and fewer than ten percent graduate from college within five years. E.L. Haynes High School presents an exciting opportunity to change this trajectory and create a brighter educational future for our students.

Founded in 2004 and designated a Tier One High-Performing School by the DC Public Charter School Board, E.L. Haynes Public Charter School currently serves 950 students from grades pre-school through ten and is recognized locally and nationally for advancing student achievement.

E.L. Haynes High School fulfills the school’s college preparation promise and meets a critical need for Washington, DC – a non-selective public high school designed so that every student will successfully complete a rigorous program that is typically provided to an elite few in the US. The 33,000-square-foot addition adjoins 12,000 existing square feet of space, enabling E.L. Haynes High School to grow to serve 400 students. The facility includes science labs, a high school regulation size gymnasium, specialized spaces for the arts, a technology lab for video game design and programming courses, and an indoor/outdoor cafeteria.

The project team included architects Shinberg Levinas and general contractor Forrester Construction. Grants from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education, Qualified School Construction Bond (QSCB), and support from The Campaign for E.L. Haynes Public Charter School funded the project.

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Photo via EL Haynes

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