FENTY STRIKES AGAIN: McMillan at Risk on WPFW's SPECTRUM TODAY

Thursday, June 3, 2010

More Back-Door Dealings in 

D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty's Office

Pete Tucker Interviews Tony Norman on WPFW's SPECTRUM TODAY 

LISTEN by clicking the radio mike: 

 

Show synopsis:   FENTY STRIKES AGAIN 

McMillan Park consists of 25 acres of beautiful land near downtown DC.  Mayor Fenty wants to turn McMillan over to a development team, led by his friends at EYA.  EYA plans to build two million square feet of development on the historic site. The community is overwhelmingly opposed to EYA's plan and leading the push back is Tony Norman and the McMillan Park Committee.  The mayor has refused to disclose the amount of public dollars promised to EYA and the McMillan Park Committee has filed a FOIA lawsuit.

Also of note:  DC's Zoning Commission plays a significant role in determining which development projects move forward and which do not.  Many civic activists, including Tony Norman, are alarmed at Mayor Fenty's decision last week to nominate two developers to this all-important commission.

McMillan Featured in Gallery Show! 6/5-7/24

NATURE TRANSFORMS:  

Opening Reception Saturday, June 5th

Opening Reception

Saturday, June 5, from 4:00pm to  8:00pm

A unique tasting menu and beverages will be paired with selected works. 

 

 The Evolve Urban Arts Project is pleased to announce the second of two exhibitions exploring the intersection between visual arts, architecture and nature.  Nature Transforms features the work of painter Jessica Van Brakle, photographer Wess Brown and a site-specific installation by mixed-media artist Alex Zealand.

With a nod to print and television media (Life After People, The World Without Us), Nature Transforms will examine the unique ways in which three DC-based artists explore the oppositional forces of the natural world and manmade architecture.   Van Brakle's paintings explore these opposing forces through slick use of geometric architectural patterns overlaid with undulating vines.  Brown gives us proof of these forces at work in his documentary coverage of the DC's old McMillan reservoir site.  Zealand's work is a study in the transformational use of found materials into "natural" forms which seek to overrun their borders and infest the gallery space.

Gallery Hours
Nature Transforms runs through July 24th, 2010.  Gallery hours are:

 Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 1-7pm

Tuesday and Thursday: 1-4pm

Saturday: 11am-2pm
Other times are always available by appointment.

McMillan on WAMU with Kojo Nnamdi

May 27, 2010

DC's unique underground development opportunities discussed on

"Shaping the City" 

       with Roger Lewis

An underground trolley tunnel may not sound like a coveted piece of property for developers. But in the District, officials are hoping the development community will come up with a new use for a series of long, dark tunnels under Dupont Circle. We'll learn more about this and other potentially creative uses of odd spaces -- from elevated subway lines to a sand filtration plant.


Listen the the archived broadcast here:

http://thekojonnamdishow.org/shows/2010-05-27/shaping-city-roger-lewis


GUESTS:
Roger K. Lewis:  Architect; Columnist, "Shaping the City," Washington Post; and Professor Emeritus of Architecture, University of Maryland College Park
Julian Hunt:  Architect and co-founder of the firm Hunt/Laudi Studio in Washington, D.C.


HIGHLIGHTS:

Miriam Gusevich a professor of architecture at Catholic University called in and spoke eloquently of McMillan alternatives, importance of site, opportunities.  
Larry Chang of EcolocityDC emailed some excellent comments -- which Kojo read on the show.


Larry Chang of EcolocityDC's comments:
The largest underground space in DC is the 20 acres of vaults under the McMillan Sand Filtration Site. These could be used for artists studios including glass works using the sand to make bottles for filtered Potomac water, agro-processing such as cheese-making, winery, brewery, mushroom-growing, cafes and boutique shops. The 25 acre green roof would provide the grapes, hops, vegetables, milk, bee-hives, as fresh produce and raw material for processing. Rain-harvesting, solar panels and wind turbines would complete this sustainable approach, while preserving the architectural and historical features.