The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) convened a hearing today where Washington, D.C. architect Shalom Baranes presented design updates for what is now being called the White House “East Wing Modernization Project,” Trump’s plan to build a new White House ballroom.
The presentation largely focused on the elevation and plan drawings Baranes showed of the proposed East Wing replacement, but the architect’s mention of a West Wing addition came as a surprise to many.
At the hearing, Baranes said the Trump administration is now considering a “1-story addition to the West Wing” of the White House above the colonnade, but didn’t go into further details beyond that it was for the purpose of creating symmetry with the enlarged East Wing.
Today’s presentation was a “higher level overview” of where the design stands now, Baranes said, and a more detailed presentation will come at a later NCPC hearing.
Baranes said the new East Wing design will adhere to an earlier iteration from McCrery Architects, the firm his practice replaced on the project. Two parallel rows of columns will front the elevation facing Pennsylvania Avenue. And a 2-story colonnade will connect to the existing “central pavilion” of the White House.
The new East Wing’s cornice will match the height of the existing White House cornice, Baranes said, to assuage concerns related to the proposed East Wing’s height and bulk.
The rebuilt East Wing will comprise two stories, with the ballroom on the second level. The 22,000-square-foot banquet space will have 38-foot to 40-foot ceilings and can accommodate up to 1,000 guests. Office space for the First Lady is part of the program, as well as the reconstruction of a movie theater.
Commissioner Phil Mendelson had choice words for the White House team and Baranes. “I don’t know when a project was presented to the NCPC when the demolition happened first,” he said. Mendelson affirmed he is “concerned” about the proposed East Wing “overwhelming” the White House and asked if its “height could be lowered.” Baranes responded: “possible, not impossible.”
Other commissioners praised the project, noting that, in comparison to other countries, the tents and portable bathroom facilities the U.S. uses for events with foreign leaders pales in comparison to what the U.K. has in its disposal, like Westminster.
The NCPC hearing came almost two months after Baranes was named the replacement architect for the East Wing ballroom project. After the announcement, AIA members—speaking on their own behalf, not for the AIA—sent Baranes a letter stating that he may be in violation of the AIA’s Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct should his office stay on the project.
Sam Combs, an Alaska–based architect who was a signatory on the letter, sent the NCPC a written statement ahead of today’s hearing. Combs said: “The scale and location of the proposed ballroom creates an extreme imbalance of the White House. It would reduce the Mansion to the ‘tail wagging the dog.’ This is untenable and should be stopped.”
A more detailed version of the East Wing project will be presented at coming NCPC hearings. The project is also slated to go in front of the Commission of Fine Arts.
→ Continue reading at The Architect's Newspaper
