Thesis

Dear Reader,

When the question of creating a the-sis topic is first brought to mind, onemust ask oneself the following:

What am I passionate about?

In my particular case, my passionslie in music: the creating, listeningto, collecting, and witnessing of mu-sical performances. I moved to Al-exandria, in part, to finish an aca-demic degree but also to live in anurban setting that could provideweekly (if not daily) music resourcesabove and beyond my former locale;consequently, the topic for my the-sis became “music” and “the city” oran attempt to place a musical ‘some-thing’ within an urban setting. Com-bining that with my readings from thesite/community and previous profes-sional experience, an educationalinstitution was the project-type ofchoice.

The following documents that pro-cess and its results. I hope you en-joy.

Warm Regards,

Evan Mann

Program

The program calls for an educational insti-tution related to music; specifically, a mu-sic conservatory. Music conservatories tra-ditionally place a much greater emphasison the performance aspects of the musi-cal curriculum rather than the study ofmusic itself; consequently, space needs tobe provided for both group and individualrehearsal in both formal and informal set-tings. Spaces that lend themselves tosound and the presentation of that soundto people: recital halls, auditoria, traditionalclassrooms, practice spaces, nooks andpockets, benches, places for silence (a li-brary), atria with echoes, amphitheaters,reverberant corridors (think of the clickingof heels down the terrazzo floor of a highschool), etc. Spaces made to promote re-laxed gathering and camaraderie - a com-munity of musicians sharing ideas as goodneighbors. This “front-porch” concept, inreflection of the area’s past as a hot-bedfor musical creativity, serves to re-anchorthe U Street District within Washington asa contributor to the city’s cultural fabric,while simultaneously providing the localcommunity with a literal front porch forgathering, sharing, and chewing the musi-cal fat.

Conceptual Sketch / Isolated Music Boxes and In-between spaceConceptual Sketch / Music box towers and connecting walkways

SITE

Located in downtown NW Washington DCon U Street between 13th and 14th streets,the site is currently a parking lot and com-munity weekend bazaar space. An el-ementary school on a nearby block has agreen playfield on the site’s northern edge,2-3 story leasable commercial space is lo-cated immediately to the west, and resi-dential townhouses and a local church line13th Street on the site’s eastern side. 14thStreet to the west is a busy four-lane traf-fic artery for the District.

The neighborhood is rich with musical his-tory, from the restored and functioning Lin-coln Theater to the U-Street/Cardozo Metrostop’s Duke Ellington mural, to the numer-ous jazz bars/lounges in the area. As readsthe DC Heritage Tourism Coalition’swebsite: “For half a century, during theyears of segregation, U Street was thenation’s Black Broadway, and the heart ofAfrican American business and culture inWashington, D.C. Located near HowardUniversity, the U Street neighborhood washome to Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington.Its theaters and clubs hosted some of thegreat names in American jazz -CabCalloway, Pearl Bailey, Sarah Vaughn, andJelly Roll Morton, to name a few.”

The historically close-knit aspect of thecommunity is in fear of being overrun withdevelopment and gentrification as progressand “renovation” march northward up 14thstreet. It’s this ‘front-porch’ aspect of thesite that was important for the conceptionof a reaction to the influx of developermonies and projects.

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Neighborhood consists predominantly of early 20th cen-tury, 2-4 story load-bearing brick structures serving a mul-titude of functions from bars, restaurants, and lounges toapartments, houses and retail space. Later additions (early1990’s commercial strip on eastern quarter of U and 14thStreets; 8 story government building on the northwest cor-ner of U and 14th; late 80’s brick and concrete church on13th Street) are scattered throughout with more high-end,multi-story mixed use development forecast for construc-tion.

Image 1 : View into site from U Street (weekend bazaar visible)

Image 2 : View from corner of U Street and 14th looking north

Image 3 : View from 14th looking east towards corner of 14th and UStreets

Image 4 : View from corner of U and 14th Streets looking SouthWest

Image 5 : Lincoln Theater, a once active concert hall, now a moviehouse

Image 6 : Portrait of Duke Ellington near entrance to U-Street CardozaMetro Station

Image 7 : Ben’s Chili Bowl, “Black owned and operated since 1958”

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Sketch Site Plan

Conceptual Section

Case Study: Section, Institute for Research and Coordination in Acoustics & Music, Paris, France byRenzo Piano

Case Study: Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois (1887-1889) byAdler & Sullivan

The initial gesture gave the complex a public space in the form of an open breeze-way/porch to the street that offered some shade and invitation to the facility, ratherthan a flat facade constructed to the edge of the property. With the developmentof the program, the breezeway became an outdoor performance plaza/amphithe-ater (a particularly grand attraction during summer evenings) hugged on threesides by the facility’s components (a classroom tower, library, and administrativeconnecting wing). To accommodate both the plaza and a large auditorium, themain performance hall was placed underground. The added benefits of this moveshouldn’t go unnoticed: better sound isolation, better heating/cooling and insula-tion potential, and a constant temperature conducive to keeping acoustic instru-ments true and in tune.

Floor Plan Section looking North

IRCAM underground studio

Sketch Perspective

Case Study: Courtyard Level Plan, Town Hall inSaynatsalo, Finland (1949-1952) by Alvar AaltoCase Study: Ground Floor Plan, Monastery of La Tourette (1957-1960) by Le Corbusier , near Lyons, France. Case Study: Site Plan, Neurosciences Institute (1992-1995), La Jolla, CA by Williams and Tsien Architects.

Sketch Section Sketch Plan Organization

Sketch Axonometric

In light of courtyard building precedents,where the empty space between structuresis just as important as the structures them-selves, the conservatory site plan devel-oped as the plaza took shape, giving placeto the various components of the facility(practice/instruction, performance, andquiet study) around a central void.

Study Axonometric for use of entire block’s depth Concept Study Model

Sketch showing allowable building height

Concept Study Model