WCP: Neighborhood Watch: Ward 8 and the Washington Highlands Library
Posted by Lois Kapila on Sep. 3, 2009, at 1:42 pm
The issue: Washington Highlands residents are happy about getting a new library. But some want a lot more say in the process, including what it looks like. While the Mount Pleasant community had 12 design meetings before settling on a plan, Highlands has had only three. British ’starchitect’ David Adjaye’s eye-catching design, with its jutting pods and giant glass windows, has met with widely divergent reactions.
Proponent: Vera Abbott, president of the Bellevue Civic Association, loves the new design: “It’s airy and futuristic.”
Opponent: Chris Otten of District Dynamos says the whole process has been just another example of the “trickle down Fenty philosophy” in action. There was no collaborative brainstorming session or ‘charrette’ to engage the community in what he calls the “lie-brary.” “This could be the loss of a great opportunity to bring ‘lost communities’ together and celebrate a civic institution that could help lift people out of poverty.”
To continue reading click HERE.
For more Congress Heights and River East news visit The Congress Heights Examiner website, http://www.examiner.com/x-13507-Congress-Heights-Community-Examiner
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The issue: Washington Highlands residents are happy about getting a new library. But some want a lot more say in the process, including what it looks like. While the Mount Pleasant community had 12 design meetings before settling on a plan, Highlands has had only three. British ’starchitect’ David Adjaye’s eye-catching design, with its jutting pods and giant glass windows, has met with widely divergent reactions.
Proponent: Vera Abbott, president of the Bellevue Civic Association, loves the new design: “It’s airy and futuristic.”
Opponent: Chris Otten of District Dynamos says the whole process has been just another example of the “trickle down Fenty philosophy” in action. There was no collaborative brainstorming session or ‘charrette’ to engage the community in what he calls the “lie-brary.” “This could be the loss of a great opportunity to bring ‘lost communities’ together and celebrate a civic institution that could help lift people out of poverty.”
To continue reading click HERE.
For more Congress Heights and River East news visit The Congress Heights Examiner website, http://www.examiner.com/x-13507-Congress-Heights-Community-Examiner
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