|  SIS
Building Leaps Zoning Hurdle, Moves Closer to Reality
The
new building for the School of International Service leaped a significant
hurdle on its way toward breaking ground when the DC Zoning Commission
approved the plans in a meeting the first week of February.
The Zoning Commission approved a rough outline of what the building will
be like, including items such as its height, general appearance, and the
size and location of the driveway into the garage. The design plans are
still only about 20 percent complete, said Jorge Abud, assistant vice
president of facilities and administration. They are expected to be finished
in about a year.
Once the hundreds of pages of detailed plans are about 90 percent finished,
at a level of detail down to the location of every light socket, AU will
get on the waiting list for final approval by the city. Final approval
takes about six months.
If all goes according to the most optimistic scenario, ground will be
broken in June 2007 for the innovative “green building,” whose
environmentally friendly design aims to encapsulate the values of SIS.
The building could then be ready to greet students in 2009. The timing
is flexible. But the zoning approval is a sign that the process, so far,
is sailing ahead as projected.
The overall plans feature light-filled, airy classrooms with a sunken
garden and a rain garden that collects runoff and provides habitat for
birds. Developed by design firm William McDonough and Partners and architectural
firm Quinn Evans, the plans include a heavy use of recycled and renewable
material, from ceramic tiles to countertops to doors and walls. Windows
can be opened to bring in fresh air and a sense of connection with the
outdoors. Paint, carpeting, and furnishings are intended to be as healthy
as possible. Even toilet partitions are made of 90-percent recycled plastic.
While the “eco-friendly” aspects of the building excite students
and proponents of sustainable development, the biggest questions have
arisen over the aspect that most concerns neighbors: traffic to and from
the building. Although the expanded building does not mean an increased
number of students, and traffic studies indicate that the building will
not increase congestion, some neighbors had asked AU to change the driveway
into the parking area from two lanes to three lanes in order to accommodate
more traffic.
AU made the change, but the Zoning Commission told the university earlier
last month to change it back to a two-lane driveway in part because of
concerns about paving green space.
The location of the SIS building’s driveway at Nebraska and New
Mexico is designed to integrate with existing traffic patterns, so that
cars won’t have to weave into moving traffic as they do when they
leave the Nebraska lot, but will be regulated by the traffic light at
the intersection. Most of the traffic on Nebraska, Abud noted, is commuter
and crosstown traffic unrelated to the university.
The building will be located at the approximate location of the current
parking lot next to the university library. The cost of the new building
is projected at $20 million. Funds are being raised as part of the $200
million AnewAU campaign.
-Sally Acharya originally published in American
Weekly
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