Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

AIA Exhibit Offers Futuristic Vision for Dupont Underground

  • August 2, 2019

by Nena Perry-Brown

Schematic of Dupont Underground. Click to enlarge.

Each year, the American Institute of Architects mounts a digital "Emerging Professionals Exhibit." This year, one of those exhibits centers around envisioning an equitable design approach to the Dupont Underground.

Dupont Underground is an abandoned trolley tunnel-turned-arts space and performance venue which runs beneath Dupont Circle, having been given a facelift and returned to use over the past 4.5 years.

Dupont Underground rendering at nexus of south tunnel and west platform. Click to enlarge.

The "DuPont Underground Uncovered For All" exhibit highlights renderings from architects Nick Cooper, Will Hinkley, and Jeannine Muller, which intend to "weave" various narratives of the space and its neighborhood together to offer a more creative and visually striking experience. The designs were created four years ago before the Underground was opened to the public and depict various points within the system, as well as a conceptual idea to soften and introduce green space and multimodal pathways spanning part of the Connecticut Avenue underpass.

"By using the conceptual framework of weaving, we will provide the DuPont neighborhood with a cultural destination that can educate, organize, and inspire both residents and visitors of all backgrounds ethnicity and beliefs," the exhibit reads. "Programmatic elements of a museum, educational initiative, and art exhibition space will weave together the various identities that embody DuPont’s unique cultural heritage." 

Being that the current lease for the Dupont Underground expires next spring, it will be interesting to see how or whether the space continues to evolve for future use. Meanwhile, the city is moving forward with plans to create an activated deck spanning part of the Connecticut Avenue underpass. Additional renderings are below.

All renderings credited to Nick Cooper, AIA, Will Hinkley, and Jeannine Muller, Assoc. AIA

Rendering of exhibit space in south tunnel. Click to enlarge.
Underpass rendering. Click to enlarge.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/aia-exhibit-offers-equitable-futuristic-vision-for-dupont-underground/15736

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Visit guides.urbanturf.com or start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

See more First-Timer Primers »

Northern Virginia

Profiles of 14 neighborhoods across Northern Virginia

Ballston
Looking to Give People A Reason to Stay Past 6pm
 Clarendon
Happily Straddling the Line Between City and Suburb
 Columbia Pike
Arlington’s Neglected Stepchild is Getting a Makeover
Crystal City
Turning Lemons into Lemonade
 Lyon Village
Developing An Air of Exclusivity?
 Rosslyn
Hitting Its Growth Spurt
Shirlington
An Urban Village Hitting Its Stride
 Del Ray
Virginia’s Small Town Near the Big City
 Eisenhower Avenue
The Vibrancy Might Take a Few Years
Huntington
The Quiet Neighborhood By the Beltway
 Old Town
Mayberry By The Potomac
 Parkfairfax
132 Commerical-Free Acres
Downtown Falls Church
Staying the Same in the Midst of Change
 Tysons Corner
Radical Change Could Be On The Way

See more Northern Virginia »

Maryland

Profiles of 14 neighborhoods in suburban Maryland

Annapolis
Small-Town Living in the State Capital
 Bethesda
Bedroom Community Gets Buzzing Cache
 Cabin John
In With The New While Maintaining the Old
Chevy Chase
Affluence, Green Lawns and Pricey Homes
 Downtown Silver Spring
Experiencing a Resurgence After a Bumpy History
 Potomac
A Suburb on Steroids
Rockville Town Square
Despite the Dynamism, Still Somewhat Generic
 Takoma Park
More Than a Little Bit Quirky
 Wheaton
A Foodie Magnet on the Verge of Change
Capitol Heights
Kudzu, Front Porches and Crime
 Hyattsville
Glass Half Full or Half Empty?
 Mount Rainier
Artists, Affordable Homes and A Silo Full of Corn
National Harbor
A Development Rises Next to the Potomac
 Riverdale Park
A Town Looking For Its Identity

See more Maryland »

Northwest DC

30+ neighborhood profiles for the city's biggest quadrant

16th Street Heights
DC's Sleeper Neighborhood
 Bloomingdale
Where (Almost) Everyone Knows Your Name
 AU Park
One of DC’s Last Frontiers Before the Suburbs
Brightwood
DC’s Northern Neighborhood on the Cusp
 Burleith
DC’s 535 House Neighborhood
 Cathedral Heights
Do You Know Where That Is?
Chevy Chase DC
Not to Be Confused With the Other Chevy Chase
 Cleveland Park
Coming Back After A Rough Year
 Columbia Heights
DC’s Most Diverse Neighborhood, But For How Long?
Crestwood
An Island of Serenity East of the Park
 Dupont Circle
The Best of DC (For a Price)
 Foggy Bottom & West End
Where the Institutional Meets the International
Forest Hills
Ambassadors and Adventurous Architecture
 Foxhall Village
350 Homes Just West of Georgetown
 Friendship Heights
A Shopping Mecca With a Few Places to Live
Georgetown
History, Hoyas and H&M
 Glover Park
One of DC’s Preppier and More Family-Friendly Neighborhoods
 Kalorama
A Posh View From Embassy Row
LeDroit Park
A Quiet Enclave in the Middle of the City
 Logan Circle
Trendy Now, But Not By Accident
 Mount Pleasant
Sought-After Homes Surround Main Street in Transition
Mount Vernon Triangle
From Seedy to Sought-After
 Palisades
The Long, Skinny Neighborhood at the City’s Northwest Edge
 Park View
It’s Not Petworth
Penn Quarter/Chinatown
DC’s Go-Go-Go Neighborhood
 Petworth
Getting a Vibrancy of Its Own
 Shaw
The Duke’s Former Stomping Ground
Shepherd Park
DC’s Garden of Diversity
 Spring Valley
A Suburb With a DC Zip Code
 Takoma
Not To Be Confused With Takoma Park
Tenleytown
Not Quite Like Its Neighbors
 U Street Corridor
The Difference a Decade Makes
 Woodley Park
Deceptively Residential
Adams Morgan
No Longer DC’s Hippest Neighborhood, But Still Loved by Residents

See more Northwest DC »

Southwest DC

The little quadrant that could

Southwest Waterfront
A Neighborhood Where A Change Is Gonna Come

See more Southwest DC »

Northeast DC

Profiles of 10 neighborhoods in NE

Brookland
New Development Could Shake Up Pastoral Peace
 Deanwood
A Little Bit of Country Just Inside the District’s Borders
 Eckington
Not to Be Confused With Bloomingdale
Fort Totten
Five Years Could Make a Big Difference
 H Street
A Place To Party, and To Settle Down
 Langdon
The Northeast Neighborhood That Few Know About
Michigan Park
A Newsletter-On-Your-Doorstep Community
 NoMa
Evolving from a Brand to a Neighborhood
 Rosedale
Ripe for Investment Right About Now
Trinidad
The Difference 5 Years Makes
 Woodridge
Big Houses, A Dusty Commercial Strip and Potential

See more Northeast DC »

Southeast DC

6 neighborhoods from Capitol Hill to East of the River

Capitol Riverfront
Still Growing
 Hill East
Capitol Hill’s Lesser Known Neighbor
 Congress Heights
Gradually Rising
Hillcrest
Notable for Its Neighborliness
 Historic Anacostia
Future Promise Breeds Cautious Optimism
 Eastern Market
A More European Way of Living

See more Southeast DC »

Off the Beaten Turf

Overlooked parks, shops, cafes, and miscellany throughout DC

Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens DC’s Tastiest Chinese Restaurant? DC’s Newest Mini Golf Course
DC’s First Gin Distillery The Sensory Deprivation Tank Quarry House Tavern
Fab Lab DC Eden Center Uncle Chips Has More Than Just Cookies
AFI Silver DC’s Supper Club The Cuban Poster Gallery
The Dupont Underground Tour Spanish Steps Mitsitam Cafe
The U.S. National Arboretum Blind Dog Cafe Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse
Hana Japanese Market A. Litteri

See more Off the Beaten Turf »

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse

See more Unique Spaces »