The project, ostensibly, seems minuscule compared with the imposing structure to which it’s attached.
But the 1,000-sf Visitor Screening facility, an addition that opened in mid-September at the base of the 555.5-ft-tall Washington Monument, now plays an important role in setting a welcoming tone for the more than 800,000 people who visit the marble obelisk annually.
The new entrance, which cost $10.7 million to complete, was nearly 10 years in the making. In 2010, the National Park Service retained the architecture firm Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners (BBB) to design the entrance and security for a Monument, whose dedication dates back to February 1885.
Hany Hassan, a Partner with BBB who managed the Washington Monument addition’s design process, has extensive experience in building and renovating historic structures, including The Smithsonian Institution, the Carnegie Library, the D.C. Courthouse, Planet World Museum, and the expansion of Arlington National Cemetery.
Nevertheless, he called the visitor screen facility “the most daunting design challenge of my career,” primarily because that addition would fundamentally change one of the nation’s most prominent landmarks, both visually and experientially.
With that in mind, BBB designed this addition to include a geothermal heating and cooling system that allows the glass roof to remain clear so visitors have a full-height view of the Monument.
The new entrance gives visitors a stunning view of the Monument's height.
Grunley Construction, which is based in Washington D.C., was the GC on this project, which entailed demolishing an existing 450-sf visitor screening facility that was located against the Monument’s base. The new facility, made with heavy steel and a concrete foundation, has a custom glazed exterior envelope with ballistic and blast protections and a series of interior partitions equipped with security.
The Monument’s elevator also underwent repairs, upgrades, and systems modernization.
The new entrance marked the reopening of the Washington Monument to the public after a three-year renovation hiatus. Its reopening had been delayed for several months after “possibly contaminated” soil was discovered last April.
A view of the Monument's interior from the new entrance. The building's elevators were also modernized.
The next famous site in D.C. getting a facelift is the Jefferson Memorial. David Rubenstein, who cofounded Carlyle Group, has donated $10 million for upgrades, a rehabilitation of the Memorial’s 25-year-old exhibit space, and the creation of a new exhibit area at the main level near the 19-ft-tall statue of Thomas Jefferson, according to the Washington Post. The National Parks Service is already involved in an $8.2 million project to restore the landmark’s exterior. The Jefferson Memorial remains open during this work.
Last year, Rubenstein said he would donate $18.5 million toward a fund for overhauling the Lincoln Memorial, whose renovation and restoration are scheduled for completion in 2022 to coincide with its centennial. Rubenstein also kicked in $7.5 million to fix the Washington Monument after it had been damaged by an earthquake in 2011.
Related Stories
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
| May 29, 2014
7 cost-effective ways to make U.S. infrastructure more resilient
Moving critical elements to higher ground and designing for longer lifespans are just some of the ways cities and governments can make infrastructure more resilient to natural disasters and climate change, writes Richard Cavallaro, President of Skanska USA Civil.
| May 27, 2014
America's oldest federal public housing development gets a facelift
First opened in 1940, South Boston's Old Colony housing project had become a symbol of poor housing conditions. Now the revamped neighborhood serves as a national model for sustainable, affordable multifamily design.
| May 23, 2014
Top interior design trends: Gensler, HOK, FXFOWLE, Mancini Duffy weigh in
Tech-friendly furniture, “live walls,” sit-stand desks, and circadian lighting are among the emerging trends identified by leading interior designers.
| May 22, 2014
7 ways it pays to use BIM for data centers
Here’s where AEC firms and owners are getting the most bang for the buck when using BIM/VDC to coordinate data center projects.
| May 22, 2014
Big Data meets data centers – What the coming DCIM boom means to owners and Building Teams
The demand for sophisticated facility monitoring solutions has spurred a new market segment—data center infrastructure management (DCIM)—that is likely to impact the way data center projects are planned, designed, built, and operated.
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 20, 2014
Gensler envisions 'law firm of the future' with pop-up office project
Called "The Legal Office of the Future," the pop-up demonstration project made its debut this week at the annual conference for the Association of Legal Administrators in Toronto.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
