WPC was represented at the meeting by its VP of development, Janel Kausner, and attorney Bob Dalrymple. They plan to submit their preliminary and site plans to the County in the coming weeks; their sketch plan has already been approved by the Planning Board. A board hearing on the latest plans will likely be held in January.
If all plans are approved by the board, WPC anticipates construction will begin in June 2019, with a June 2021 delivery date. Dalrymple said WPC is seeking a ground floor retail tenant that will activate the building's corner on Old Georgetown Road.
The new Solaire tower, the second in downtown Bethesda, will be 24 stories and 225' tall. All parking will be underground, and parking and loading access will all be from the Commerce Lane side of the property. That will provide a continuous pedestrian-only sidewalk along Old Georgetown in front of the building.
There will be no blank walls on the tower, which is designed to be attractive from all 360 degrees of view. WPC promised the architecture "will do justice to the downtown zone." The building will make a direct connection to the Bethesda Place courtyard from its second level.
4 comments:
Wow...so lucid compared to yesterday's article.
This will be a thoughtful addition to the downtown.
Very nice. Pretty striking architecture. Probably the best looking of all the new Bethesda developments.
Not sure if I am a fan of an all brick clad tower. The premise of masonry design by Louis Kahn was to be be sure the masonry is grounded, as it was originally a load bearing building material, and needed to support itself. Modern brick veneer cladding is simply attached to a frame, so it really doesn’t need to be grounded, and for example can be catilevered over space. This troubles me. When I see tall brick buildings hovering above an open space, I seem to believe the material is not used in a genuine way. Why not clad cantilevered architecture with modern sleek materials like metal and glass, and not use “old school” brick? If you really want a warm colored material, why not use a modern terra cotta rain screen cladding system, like Element 28?
Another problem with very tall brick buildings is the scale of the materials. Brick has a very small modular scale, and upper levels of the building, and the brick coursing itself, and many nice masonry details that can be achieved are lost when viewed from the ground. Why not use a larger module of cladding, like metal or stone?
I think this building would be much more handsome if it had a strong masonry or stone clad base, and a more sleek metal tower. The angular geometry of the tower would be emphasized by a sleek cladding, and not diminished by the monolithic texture of the small brick module.
The irregular window punched window openings are nice, but still seem a bit too repeatitive too me. I wonder if a more random array of openings would be stronger?
Lastly, the tower just peters out at the top, like the masons just got tired and went home. A more iconic top would help complete the massing and create a more memorable skyline. As the 24 story tower rises above its neighbors, it would be cool if had a modern element at its crown. An oversized sunscreen, a sloping photo voltaic array, or something else that could add a bit of distinction, that also could be illuminated at night, might be a start.
I think the Shalom Baranes has a great start here, but I suggest they could refine this tower to be less of a background soldier building, and more of a hero.
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