BRUCE-MONROE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT PARK VIEW MODERNIZATION HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW

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1 HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW submitted to: DC Historic Preservation Office Office of Planning ARCHITECTS

2 ARCHITECTURAL NARRATIVE Bruce Monroe Elementary School at Park View is among the schools included in the Department of General Services (DGS) list of FY 2012 Phase 1 Schools. These facilities will be modernized to comply with DC Public Schools (DCPS) criteria, aimed to improve the learning environment, improve student performance, and advance educational outcomes, concurrent with phased renovations. The modernization of this school will be completed in a three-phase process. This phasing allows the school to be occupied throughout the modernization process, intended to provide an improved physical environment within the core learning areas at the earliest possible time. Because of the existing conditions at the Bruce Monroe Elementary School at Park View, the work that is to be completed under Phase 1 will be supplemental to the typical Phase 1 modernization projects, and completed during the Summer of Construction of the original portion of the Bruce Monroe Elementary School at Park View was completed in 1916, with two additional academic wings added in This historic architectural structure is built of brick with limestone ornamentation including decorative quoins, trim at windows and doors, and crenellation along the parapet. The addition was built to match the original portion of the building and included educational spaces, in addition to spaces originally built as separate boy s and girl s gyms. A unique, full-sized Auditorium with stage was built during initial construction, in contrast to singular large spaces serving as Cafeteria, Gymnasium, and Auditorium, which were common during this period. The overall building organization is symmetrical, leading to a highly formalized building. The building is situated in the middle of the block so that the front and side setbacks are similar, with the main entrance in the middle of the block facing Warder Street. The property is elevated from the adjacent sidewalk, which slopes downward from Warder Street, with all entries consisting of a series of steps. The main building entrance leads from a paved terrace centered on Warder Street, while the remainder of the site is bordered by a brick and stone retaining wall. The proposed reorganization of the classrooms would provide groupings of classrooms by grade with the pre-k and classrooms located on the Ground Floor adjacent to the play structures that are appropriate for their specific age groups. The older children would be located on the second floor, along with the Computer Lab for their use. This grouping of classrooms by age is conducive to the bi-lingual curriculum employed by this school. The reorganization also places the administrative and common functions of the school at the main floor where they are easily accessible to all portions of the school without disrupting the educational spaces. The renovation of the Bruce Monroe at Parkview Elementary School is an opportunity to restore this historic building to its original glory, while providing a state of the art environment to the school and the overall community. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Welcome Center Resulting from the split level design of the school, it is unclear upon entering where to find building administration and security staff. The introduction of a Welcome Center at the top of the entry stairs will alleviate this confusion. Broad glazing, located directly on axis with the main entry doors, will provide an immediate and engaging visual connection to the reception area. The glazed opening will be located between two historic openings which were subsequently filled, and will be recreated with door,s transoms and sidelights modeled after the original shown in the historic construction drawings. The entry hall will receive a new drywall ceiling to hide new building systems and allow for the installation of a new pendant light similar to the existing historic lights in the Auditorium. The Welcome Center will be housed within the original Mezzanine for the Auditorium. This area has since been enclosed and the original seating area removed. On the Auditorium side of this area, a full height wall with a single, plastic vision panel, situated somewhat arbitrarily, separates the former Mezzanine from the Auditorium. As part of the proposed renovation, this full height wall will be removed and replaced with full height glass, held off the historic balustrade that is to remain at the edge of the original mezzanine parapet. This will allow the original mezzanine area to be part of the Auditorium spatially, while serving the functional requirement of the needed Welcome Center. Corridors The existing corridors on the first and second floors have plaster walls and ceilings, and VCT flooring. The ground floor corridors have glazed brick to a height of approximately four feet with painted brick above. All corridors will receive new resilient tile flooring throughout and the existing plaster will be repaired and repainted as necessary. Exposed existing building piping and electrical conduit will be removed as part of new electrical and mechanical system upgrades that will require the installation of new components. In order to conceal these elements while preserving the integrity of the historic building, a new floating ceiling is to be installed that will be held off the walls. Classrooms The classrooms have existing wood paneling, chalkboard trim, and molding that appears to be in good condition. As in the corridors, existing piping and electrical conduit are exposed on the walls and ceilings. The installation of the new building systems will remove these exposed elements and provide new ones that will be concealed behind a new floating ceiling. This new ceiling will be engaged at the two interior walls and held off the exterior walls to allow for visibility of the full height windows. The proposed HVAC system will make use of the existing building ductwork that is concealed within the interior walls, eliminating the need for the installation of extensive bulkheads and shafts throughout. The original grills that are mounted on the walls will be cleaned and repainted as necessary.

3 ARCHITECTURAL NARRATIVE (CONTINUED) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ADA Accessible Ramp The elevated site poses considerable challenges when considering the requirements of ADA accessibility. The design team proposes a combination of re-grading a portion of the site with the introduction of stone walls and a ramp to provide an ADA accessible entrance at the southeast corner of the building site. This location has the smallest difference in grade between the adjacent public sidewalk and school walkway. It is not feasible to alter the historic Warder Street entrance to the school as would be required to install the ramp. Instead, the building entrance facing 6th Street NW is being proposed as the accessible entrance. While this entrance is not the formal main entrance, its prominent location on the site and direct access to the main corridor make this the only reasonable choice for a minimallyinvasive ADA-accessible entry point. The building is a split-level configuration with the entrance midway between the Ground and First Floors. In order to achieve the required ADA accessibility, the design team is proposing the introduction of a new lift adjacent to the existing stairwell so that the Ground and First floors may be accessed from this entry. Exterior Renovations Because of the scheduled phasing of the construction of this project, very little work on the exterior of the building will be included in this phase. A replacement of all exterior doors and windows is included for Phase 2, to be completed at a later date. The current phase of work will include the installation of new mechanical and electrical systems throughout the building. This will render some of the piping and conduit that is exposed on the exterior of the building obsolete. Any exposed elements that are no longer needed will be removed wherever possible, to restore the integrity of the historic building elements.

4 SITE - PROPOSED PLAN 6TH STREET NW NEWTON PLACE NW OTIS PLACE NW NEW ACCESSIBLE ENTRY Accessible ramp & sloped walk WARDER STREET NW ENTRY POINT

5 BLOCKING AND STACKING - PROPOSED PLAN LEGEND Administration/Health Cafeteria Gymnasium Electrical Equipment Room Auditorium Physical Education Cafeteria Auditorum Pre-School/Pre-K Boys Toilet Room Classroom 1-5 Electrical Equipment Room Pre-K Girls Toilet Room Pre-K Computer Lab Media Center Music/Art Proposed Accesible Entry Other Core Academic Areas Special Ed Pre-K S. S. Head End Pre-K Pre-K S. Pre-K Teacher Support/Workroom Restrooms Building Support Unassigned Proposed Accesible Entry Teacher s Work Room Before and After Care GROUND FLOOR

6 BLOCKING AND STACKING - PROPOSED PLAN Resource Rooms Speech Room Student Services Offices 1st 1st 1st I.T. Resource Class LEGEND Administration/Health Auditorium Boys Boys Physical Education Resource Class Cafeteria Pre-School/Pre-K Girls Art Music Parent Resource Room Welcome Center Girls Classroom 1-5 Computer Lab Media Center Music/Art Records Head End Admin. Work Area Other Core Academic Areas Special Ed Data Conf. Mail Teacher Support/Workroom Couns. Lounge Restrooms Building Support Unassigned Office Exam Cots Principal FIRST FLOOR

7 BLOCKING AND STACKING - PROPOSED PLAN 2nd 2nd 2nd Computer Lab 5th 5th LEGEND Administration/Health Auditorium Boys Boys Physical Education Cafeteria 2nd 5th Pre-School/Pre-K Classroom 1-5 Girls 3rd 3rd Office 4th 4th Girls Computer Lab Media Center Music/Art Media Center Other Core Academic Areas Special Ed Work Teacher Support/Workroom 3rd 3rd 4th 4th Restrooms Building Support Unassigned second FLOOR

8 BRUCE-MONROE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT PARK VIEW MODERNIZATION PHOTOGRAPHS - EXISTING EXTERIOR Southeast corner playground Proposed location of new accessible entry ramp Southeast corner playground, from Newton Place Landing to be modified for accessibility Proposed location of new accessible entry Piping and conduit at exterior to be removed

9 BRUCE-MONROE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT PARK VIEW MODERNIZATION PHOTOGRAPHS - EXISTING INTERIOR Existing partition at mezzanine to be removed, baluster to remain. Surface-mounted piping and conduit to be removed View of welcome center entry area Security desk to be relocated to welcome center Clerestory, transom and baluster to remain Piping and conduit at classrooms to be removed

10 WELCOME CENTER - PROPOSED New Glass Panel Wall, Historic Baluster to remain New Interior Glazing A C ENTRY POINT ORIENTATION PLAN B B New Terrazzo Tile New Broadloom Carpet ENLARGED PLAN AT WELCOME CENTER A PLANS

11 WELCOME CENTER - PROPOSED AUDITORIUM NEW GLASS WALL AT WELCOME CENTER ALONG AUDITORIUM HISTORIC BALUSTER TO REMAIN WELCOME CENTER NEW INTERIOR GLAZING AT WELCOME CENTER ALONG CORRIDOR A-A TRANSVERSE SECTION B-B LONGITUDINAL SECTION HISTORIC BALUSTER TO REMAIN NEW GLASS WALL AT WELCOME CENTER ALONG AUDITORIUM C ELEVATION FROM AUDITORIUM SECTIONS AND ELEVATIONS

12 WELCOME CENTER - PROPOSED INTERIOR RENDERING

13 ACCESSIBLE ENTRY - PROPOSED PROPOSED ACCESSIBLE ENTRY A UP UP A LATERAL ELEVATION OF ACCESSIBLE ENTRY PROPOSED ACCESSIBLE ENTRY UP B OBVERSE ELEVATION OF ACCESSIBLE ENTRY PARTIAL SITE PLAN B PLAN AND ELEVATIONS

14 BRUCE-MONROE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AT PARK VIEW MODERNIZATION EXTERIOR - PROPOSED RENDERING