tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post4565651678834169961..comments2024-03-25T18:50:15.135-04:00Comments on DCmud - The Urban Real Estate Digest of Washington DC: Southwest Ecodistrict to Replace Concrete Jungle?Kenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08295461340042242438noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-63297665711591239612012-01-12T17:06:24.618-05:002012-01-12T17:06:24.618-05:00The HUD building sucks!The HUD building sucks!SWaghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11608428189684364142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-62881910534185794772011-05-25T17:12:58.561-04:002011-05-25T17:12:58.561-04:00HUD building could make a neat residential buildin...HUD building could make a neat residential building.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-44070366141592190482011-05-25T15:07:06.980-04:002011-05-25T15:07:06.980-04:00For those of us who don't care for the masturb...For those of us who don't care for the masturbatory praise of modernist / brutalist architects this period only represents a conscious effort to sterilize society aesthetically and socially. <br /><br />Not that architecture has really recovered from it's love affair with boring rectangles but anything is better than what's down there now.<br /><br />Having lived in "real cities" I cant see Washington as anything but a failure, largely due to the development policies and designs of the 60's, 70's and 80's.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-88790916035028084932011-05-24T12:14:23.775-04:002011-05-24T12:14:23.775-04:00Yes, interesting note, the HUD (The Robert C. Weav...Yes, interesting note, the HUD (The Robert C. Weaver Fed Bldg) at 451 Seventh Street SW, was designed by Marcel Breuer, widely thought to be one of the masters of Modernism.<br /><br />The plans for an Ecodistrict in the 15-block area are nascent, to put it lightly, but would likely include retrofitting and demolishing buildings.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-53548368305336491062011-05-24T11:23:31.303-04:002011-05-24T11:23:31.303-04:00A lot of people love the HUD building.A lot of people love the HUD building.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-57745655420008751652011-05-23T15:45:08.246-04:002011-05-23T15:45:08.246-04:00Part of making something green is making it lovabl...Part of making something green is making it lovable. Just becasue there's some embodied energy in a brutalist concrete monolith doesn't mean replacing it is wastefull. If people want to be there for aesthetic reasons, that will eventually make up for the loss of embodied energy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-25903904332973028022011-05-23T14:08:18.513-04:002011-05-23T14:08:18.513-04:00I agree that bad architecture should be illegal, h...I agree that bad architecture should be illegal, however discussions for the development of the ecodistricts that begin with simply throwing away what amounts to an overwhelming amount of embodied energy in these existing buildings seems a very poor place to begin. Likewise with poorly conceived statements like we should "destroy everything from the 1960's." <br />We need to look deeper at things like infrastructure (which in DC's case is gravely unsustainable) and planning which make the greenest of green buildings simple specks in an oil spot if not done correctly.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-80559294224415907102011-05-23T13:56:49.105-04:002011-05-23T13:56:49.105-04:00Comment from the Baby and Bathwater Department: Y...Comment from the Baby and Bathwater Department: Yes, the 10th Street, SW corridor is atrocious. It should be razed and completely rebuilt in a more urbane fashion. But not all architecture from the 1960s is bad. Philip Johnson's pre-Columbian museum at Dumbarton Oaks, for example, is an awesome building. Actually, a number of the housing developments in southwest DC are pretty good. So let's just remember to judge each project on its own merits.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-38129801010138616012011-05-23T12:25:55.925-04:002011-05-23T12:25:55.925-04:00I agree with all of the above comments. This is a...I agree with all of the above comments. This is a great opportunity to undo one of the ugliest parts of the city. I'd love to see mixed use to add vibrancy and residential to that area.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-67041777792742027822011-05-23T07:32:17.741-04:002011-05-23T07:32:17.741-04:00Hey ho on what A-lo said.Hey ho on what A-lo said.Thayer-Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04892043179839099462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-14013725340259305342011-05-21T07:24:09.399-04:002011-05-21T07:24:09.399-04:00I don't think that area can be improved much w...I don't think that area can be improved much without knocking down all those concrete bunkers. Just imagine if a mixed residential and office community sprang up in that area south of the mall (a la penn quarter)--the Mall would finally become the vibrant urban park space that it could never manage to be.A-lohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00620430902025626692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-1397567959221448802011-05-20T19:37:51.120-04:002011-05-20T19:37:51.120-04:00So I guess it would be known as Saltwest Ecodistri...So I guess it would be known as Saltwest Ecodistrict....Michaelnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-33698744281209153922011-05-20T17:20:42.560-04:002011-05-20T17:20:42.560-04:00But this is where Angelina Jolie ran around in &qu...But this is where Angelina Jolie ran around in "Salt"! We shouldn't destroy part of Hollywood history!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-12367199097300218492011-05-20T03:18:33.061-04:002011-05-20T03:18:33.061-04:00The whole city ought to be advanced as an ecodistr...The whole city ought to be advanced as an ecodistrict. Agree with the previous two posts. Architects are always complaining about the anti modernist vein in the public, this is why!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-90388219981735997792011-05-19T17:51:35.499-04:002011-05-19T17:51:35.499-04:00Ditto. I doubt this plan will accomplish anything...Ditto. I doubt this plan will accomplish anything though, it has no teeth or funding.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22305958.post-23657952091774631022011-05-19T17:43:27.968-04:002011-05-19T17:43:27.968-04:00please tear all of this down and make such inhuman...please tear all of this down and make such inhuman architecture illegal! The sooner we destroy everything from the 1960's the sooner we can get back to urbanity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com