DCPL Chooses Tenley Library Architectural Team

During a press conference today at the Anacostia Interim Library, Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper announced that Davis
Brody Bond Aedas and The Freelon Group, Inc., in partnership with local architect R. McGhee & Associates, have been selected to lead the architectural design teams for the new Anacostia, Benning, Tenley-Friendship and Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Libraries. Both teams include local firms as consultants for civil, landscaping, and mechanical, electrical, plumbing services, which comprise more than 40% of each design team. Construction on the combined $37 million library
project is scheduled to begin in mid summer 2008, with the libraries due to open in 2010.

The architectural teams were chosen because they exceeded standards set forth by the D.C. Public Library and the District's Office of Contracts and Procurement (OCP). The standards included having experience in designing modern libraries, experience with sustainable design and could meet the city's new LEED standards, creating spaces that inspire human interaction, having effectively worked with community groups to develop design, and having a sizeable portion of the design
team include local LSDBE firms. The teams were selected from more than 60 firms that are part of the Library and OCP's design firm database.

"With these great architects and engineers, we will design exceptional spaces for neighborhood libraries in the District of
Columbia. I am eager to begin the building process with these talented teams," said Chief Librarian Ginnie Cooper. "The neighborhood libraries are so important. We are committed to opening wonderful libraries and to involving the neighbors the process."

The Freelon Group, Inc. and R. McGhee & Associates Team, which includes local consultants Delon Hampton, John J. Christie and Associates, and L.S. Caldwell & Associates, will design the Anacostia Neighborhood Library and Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library.

The new libraries will be designed as stand-alone buildings. They will be designed larger than the existing branch libraries and in the range of 18,000 – 20,000 square feet.

The Freelon Group, Inc., has been involved in a range of projects diverse in scale, building type and scope. The firm has specialized design expertise in the areas of Libraries, Science and Technology, and Museum/Cultural Center facilities. Some of their recent design work includes the Durham County Regional Library Prototype - East and North Branches, NC; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA; Sonja Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. R. McGhee & Associates, a local Washington, DC firm, has joined The Freelon Group, Inc., on the architectural design team.

Philip Freelon, President of The Freelon Group, said, "The community will play an integral part in the design phase – engaging the community is a needed hands-on part of the process. We really focus in on projects that have a tangible, positive impact on the community in which they are located."

Ronnie McGhee, Principal of R. McGhee & Associates, said, "We look forward to getting involved with community groups to find out what your needs are so that the new libraries are signature pieces within the neighborhoods."

Above and beyond the basic services of civil engineering, architectural design, structural engineering and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing design, the teams also are required to provide eleven additional design services, eight of which are library-related. The additional design services include: site planning and urban design; interior design; landscape design; audio-visual and broadcast technology design; lighting design; communications/data systems; vertical transportation; code consulting; ADA consulting; security systems design; and cost estimating.

The team will be managed by the D.C. Public Library's Capital Construction department and contract specialists within OCP. The design and community input phase of the building project will begin on August 1 and will take approximately 10 months to complete.