ASLA/The Dirt: The Latest and Greatest from D.C.’s Landscape Architects
Swampoodle Park: Adrienne McCray, ASLA, a landscape architect at Lee and Associates spoke about the challenge of meeting the needs of the different groups who shaped Swampoodle Park, which is named after a vanished 19th century neighborhood in Northeast D.C. Community outreach is an important aspect of the mission of the NoMa Parks Foundation, which financed the projectis high on the list. READ MORE
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen to introduce legislation officially sanctioning chosen name of under-construction dog park and children’s playground
WASHINGTON, D.C. / DECEMBER 13, 2017 — After crowdsourcing dozens of possible names for a new park at the corner of 3rd and L streets NE and then putting three of the best options to a public vote, the NoMa Parks Foundation (NPF) announced that “Swampoodle Park” will be the name of the community playground and dog park, which is currently under construction. More than 1,500 votes were cast for a name in a three-week online poll, with 67% of respondents selecting “Swampoodle Park” over “Old City Corner” (21%) and “3rd and L Park” (12%).
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The NoMa Parks Foundation, an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District, announced today the launch of a new planning and community engagement website, ImagineNoMaParks.org. The website, a site on the mySidewalk platform, will enable the Foundation to both share and solicit more information from residents as design on two park sites, the NoMa Green and the 3rd and L Street NE park, begins in earnest this spring and summer. (more…)
Washington, D.C., October 14, 2014 – The NoMa Parks Foundation invites the community to view the final 13 designs for the NoMa Underpass Design Competition at a community meeting on Thursday, October 16, 2014. Those who are unable to attend the meeting are invited to take an online survey, or view large image-rich boards of the projects and take a paper survey in the Lobby at 1200 First Street, NE, from October 14 to 17.
The NoMa Underpass Design Competition is an initiative of the NoMa Parks Foundation to beautify and improve the neighborhood’s four railroad underpasses (at Florida Avenue, K, L and M Streets, NE) with engaging artistic light installations. The project is a partnership between the District of Columbia government, WMATA, Amtrak and the NoMa Parks Foundation.
The Community Meeting
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2014
Time: 6-8 PM
Location: Lobby Project, 1200 First Street, NE
Light refreshments will be served.
Can’t attend the meeting? Take the survey, or stop by the Lobby to view the presentation boards of the finalist designs from Tuesday, October 14 at noon to Friday, October 17 at 6 PM.
A prestigious jury selected 10 distinguished artists, architects, lighting designers, and landscape architects representing three countries and seven cities across the United States as finalists in the competition. View a full list here.
With community feedback in hand, the jury will select the winners by year-end. Installation of the winning designs will begin in 2015.
“We encourage the neighborhood to come give their input on these incredible installations,” said Curtis Clay, Director of the NoMa Parks Foundation. “While much of the difficult technical work lies ahead, as we delve into the installation details of these pieces, we are excited to create a significant impact in these four underpasses as we transform them into exciting and beautiful passageways.”
The underpass competition has generated overwhelming interest and excitement since its announcement in April. During the Request for Qualifications (RFQ) phase, the Foundation received 248 submissions from 14 countries, including the District of Columbia. After a rigorous review, 49 semi-finalists were selected, which was then narrowed down to 10 finalists who submitted 13 project proposals for the four underpasses.
The competition’s jury is comprised of Elizabeth Broun, Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum; Roger Lewis, FAIA, Architect, University of Maryland Professor Emeritus of Architecture, Washington Post Columnist; Robin Rose, Washington artist; George Hemphill, local art curator/gallery owner; and Charles “Sandy” Wilkes, Chair of the NoMa Parks Foundation.
About The NoMa Parks Foundation
The NoMa Underpass Design Competition is led by the NoMa Parks Foundation, and is one of several projects that are proceeding concurrently to acquire land, improve existing sites, and execute the long-term vision of the NoMa Public Realm Design Plan. The NoMa Parks Foundation was formed in 2012 and the following year received a $50 million commitment from the District government to acquire land, build parks and enhance public space in NoMa.
In the rapidly redeveloping NoMa neighborhood, one critical ingredient is missing: parks. More than 18,000 people live in greater NoMa, and the population is projected to double in the next 10 years; but currently NoMa contains no publicly accessible parks, playgrounds, or plazas. While the District of Columbia averages 12.9 acres of open space per 1,000 residents, none of these spaces exist in the NoMa neighborhood. They are urgently needed to serve the residents and more than 40,000 daytime employees and visitors to the neighborhood. Undeveloped land is becoming more scarce each year as development occurs on the remaining empty lots. The creation of refreshing, inviting parks and public spaces before it is too late will improve the lives of people in NoMa today and for generations to come. More about the NoMa Parks Foundation can be found at www.nomabid.org/parks.
About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, private developers have invested more than $5 billion in the 35-block area within the NoMa BID boundary, and have plans to develop more than 16 million square feet of additional office, residential, hotel, and retail space. NoMa is home to more than 3,900 new apartments, and more than 40,000 people work in NoMa each day. With unparalleled transportation access via Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter.
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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
rdavis@nomabid.org
Washington, D.C., July 9, 2014 – Join your neighbors this Saturday to give feedback on the type of artistic playgrounds you’d like to see in NoMa! An initial community meeting will be held Saturday, July 12 at 10 AM at Flats 130 apartments at 130 M Street, NE. The meeting will be about a new playable art sculpture in the neighborhood along the Metropolitan Branch Trail between L & M Streets, NE. The NoMa neighborhood has been selected for the Playable Arts DC project (playableartdc.co) to receive an art sculpture that will double as children’s play equipment, and the DC Office of Planning, NoMa BID, and the ANC are collaborating on the project.
An international design competition will take place later this year, with installation in 2016. The process kicks off with this Saturday’s community workshop to allow neighbors, kids, and parents to provide feedback on what kinds of art & play structures they’d like to see here.
Please help spread the word! Coffee and pastries will be provided. Whether you can make it or not, please also participate in the related online survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PlayableArtDC.
About Playable Art DC
Playable Art DC is a play and place-making initiative of the DC Office of Planning (OP) in partnership with the District Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to bring innovative art-based play spaces to neighborhoods with underserved park space in the District though an international design competition. Playable Art DC promotes the use of art as a means of creating new types of play spaces in areas that are constrained by space, topography, or other barriers like busy streets. Playable Art DC also seeks to engage the whole community in play as a way to promote fitness and exercise and create community landmarks and neighborhood gathering spots. The initiative is made possible by a grant from ArtPlace America.
Playable Art DC builds on Mayor Gray’s playground improvement initiative—a multi-year citywide play space project to evaluate and improve DPR playgrounds—by providing access to play for neighborhoods identified in the Play DC Vision Framework as not well served by traditional parks and open spaces. For more information about Playable Art DC, please visit: http://playableartdc.org
About NoMa
NoMa is a vibrant, growing neighborhood nestled among Union Station, the U.S. Capitol, Shaw, and the H Street, NE corridor in Washington, D.C. Over the last several years, private developers have invested more than $5 billion in the 35-block area within the NoMa BID boundary, and have plans to develop more than 16 million square feet of additional office, residential, hotel, and retail space. With a capital investment of $50 million from the District government, NoMa will soon have great new parks and public spaces as well. NoMa is home to more than 3,900 terrific new apartments, and more than 40,000 people work here each day. NoMa is the most connected neighborhood in Washington, D.C. With unparalleled transportation access on Amtrak, VRE, MARC, two Red Line Metro stops, and vehicular access to Interstate 395, visitors, workers and residents can easily travel throughout the region as well as get to New York or anywhere on the East Coast. NoMa has a WalkScore of 92 and offers great biking facilities, including three free outdoor air pumps, the East Coast’s only Bikestation, the 8-mile Metropolitan Branch Trail, and seven Capital Bikeshare stations. The NoMa BID organizes more than 50 free award-winning community events each year, connecting more than 20,000 friends and neighbors. For more information about NoMa, visit www.nomabid.org and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Follow us on Twitter @NoMaBID and like us on Facebook.
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For immediate release
News media contact:
Rachel Davis
202-997-3846
rdavis@nomabid.org
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