Renderings and Details of the Park at Georgetown’s West Heating Plant

• October 9, 2013

by Shilpi Paul

Courtesy of Ignacio Bunster-Ossa.

On Tuesday night, the team behind the redevelopment of Georgetown’s West Heating Plant revealed renderings and details of the much-anticipated project.

After a team made up of architect Richard Levy, The Georgetown Co., and The Four Seasons won the right to redevelop Georgetown’s West Heating Plant, folks have been eager to know more about the plans for the plant and surrounding acreage, located near 29th and K Streets NW (map). Last spring, it was announced that the building will be turned into 80 high-end condos.

Now, in a series of public meetings over the next few weeks, the team is ready to reveal more details about the architecture and layout of the building and the plans for the surrounding park. A website will be launched on October 22nd with all the plans, and the team hopes to collect feedback from neighbors and community groups.

On Tuesday night, landscape architect Ignacio Bunster-Ossa, who designed the Georgetown Waterfront Park, revealed the public spaces, including a park to the south of the plant, an enhanced trail along Rock Creek, and bridges connecting the space to the Four Seasons and Rock Creek Park to the north. The public spaces total 3.6 acres.

Bunster-Ossa described the park as an elevated area, built on top of a two-level parking garage, that is inspired by New York’s Bryant Park and High Line. The park will have open spaces, plantings, a very shallow water feature that will be available for wading, and a 16-foot-wide and 140-foot-long trellis along the west side to provide shade. A glass elevator will provide access to the park on the north, and a large staircase will provide access on the south side.

They will also be building a pedestrian bridge to cross over Rock Creek and connect Rock Creek Park to the new area, and will be continuing the trail along the Creek. The 20-foot area between Rock Creek and an existing industrial wall will be landscaped, with a border of plantings between the trail and creek.

The building is being designed by famed architect David Adjaye, who designed the National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as the Francis Gregory and Bellevue libraries in DC. The building design will be revealed at a meeting at the Four Seasons on October 22nd, but a short video from Adjaye offered a few details. 70 percent of the existing building will be torn down, and the 29th Street facade will be preserved. Adjaye will then recreate the overall form with ceramic that resembles the previous materials.

An overhead view of the plant, park and bridges.

This article originally published at http://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/renderings_and_details_of_the_park_at_georgetowns_west_heating_plant/7668