General Services Administration (GSA) Office of the Chief Architect, Center for Historic Buildings Washington DC, USA Samantha Westbrooke, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
General Services Administration (GSA) GSA s Center for Historic Buildings provides technical and strategic expertise to promote the viability, reuse, and integrity of historic buildings GSA owns, leases, and has the opportunity to acquire. Roughly half of GSA s 1600-plus owned buildings are over 50 years old. About 300 of these buildings are listed on, or are eligible for the National Register for Historic Places. GSA s building portfolio includes custom houses, courthouses, post offices, border stations, and federal agency offices across the United States and its territories. Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building Commerce Department Ariel Rios Building GSA Building rooftop
The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) The ACHP is an independent federal agency that promotes the preservation, enhancement, and productive use of our nation's historic resources, and advises the President and Congress on national historic preservation policy. The ACHP are the only entity with the legal responsibility to encourage federal agencies to factor historic preservation into federal project requirements.
Primary Project: Leasing of Federal Historic Spaces and Buildings to Non Federal Tenants My primary project involved investigation into the use of Section 111 of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) by federal agencies with a particular focus on GSA. Section 111 gives federal agencies the authority to lease out federal space in historic buildings to non federal tenants and retain the revenue from this leasing to reinvest in historic buildings for preservation purposes. The Alexander Hamilton Customs House in New York is leased out by GSA for film and television location purposes
Primary Project: Leasing of Federal Historic Spaces and Buildings to Non Federal Tenants Many GSA outleases are supplementary to federal tenancies. These outleases raise a substantial amount of revenue each year for reinvestment into the GSA historic building portfolio for preservation purposes Part of the GSA owned Export-Import Bank in Washington DC is leased out to Loeb s Deli Restaurant Some federal agencies (primarily the Department of Defense) are using Enhanced Use Leasing authority instead of Section 111. Part of my project involved investigation of how this authority differs to Section 111.
Primary Project: Leasing of Federal Historic Spaces and Buildings to Non Federal Tenants The Tariff Building in Washington DC is a GSA building that has been leased out to the Kimpton Group for 60 years for use as the Hotel Monaco. The lease was the first of its kind and involved the undertaking of important preservation works as part of the lease process. Hotel Monaco is being used as a model for future whole historic building outleases by GSA. Hotel Monaco, Washington, DC
Primary Project: Leasing of Federal Historic Spaces and Buildings to Non Federal Tenants This project involved gaining an understanding of the (NHPA) and the role of the ACHP as well as the numerous federal agencies owning and managing historic properties. I explored five federal agencies in more detail, and through detailed investigation of GSA s use of Section 111, also gained an in depth knowledge of the extent of GSA s historic building portfolio and how they manage and preserve their historic properties. The resultant product was an Issues Paper providing recommendations for further investigation into the use of Section 111 by federal agencies and recommendations for better utilization of Section 111 within GSA.
GSA Mid 20 th Century Modern J. Edgar Hoover Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC C. F. Murphy, 1972 Federal Center, Chicago, Illinois - Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1964-69 GSA owns over 550 Mid 20th Century Modern buildings that require evaluation to determine their historic and architectural significance as they near the 50 year age threshold for National Register eligibility. Department of Housing & Urban Development, Washington, DC Marcel Breuer, 1963-68 US Tax Court, Washington, DC Victor Lundy, 1974 The second project I was involved in was assisting GSA with their ongoing significance assessment of their Mid 20th Century Modern buildings. This included reviewing the GSA Mid 20 th Century Modern database of over 550 buildings and providing suggestions based on my own experience for methods of systematic assessment of significance.
ICOMOS Joint ISC Meeting & Symposium ICOMOS Scientific Committees on 20th Century Heritage (ISC20C) and Analysis and Restoration of Architectural Heritage (ISCARSAH) - Co-partner Organizations June 21 23, I attended the ICOMOS Joint ISC Meeting & Symposium held at Illinois Institute of Technology
ICOMOS Joint ISC Meeting & Symposium Chicago I thought I had died and gone to Architecture Heaven! Frank Lloyd Wright Ludwig Mies van der Rohe Frank Gehry Rem Koolhaas Helmut Jahn Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Bertrand Goldberg just to name a few!
Arlington Living Arlington Village Former Department of Defense 1940s Townhouses Park Fairfax US Air Force Memorial Fairlington The Pentagon My home and roommate No photographs allowed Arlington Cemetery
DC Exploring Memorials, Monuments, Music & Museums Museums The Hirshhorn Museum The National Archives The Spy Museum Air and Space Museum National Gallery of Art Textile Museum Holocaust Museum Renwick Gallery National Portrait Gallery The Natural History Museum
DC Exploring Memorials, Monuments, Music & Museums Memorials & Monuments The National Cathedral Lincoln Memorial The Vietnam War Memorial The US Navy Memorial The Korean War Memorial Marine Corp Memorial Washington Monument World War II Memorial The US Air force Memorial and more
DC Exploring Memorials, Monuments, Music & Museums Music Wolf Trapp Jazz in the Sculpture Garden The Kennedy Center Music at the Zoo The US Air Force Memorial Screen on the Green
Dining in DC, Maryland & Virginia Bob & Edith s Diner, Arlington Fund raising breakfast for the Orlean Volunteer Fire Company Inc. Burger and Fries Dupont Circle warm Krispy Kremes Tastee Diner, Bethesda Just some of the neighborhoods I visited: Arlington Alexandria Shirlington Georgetown Capitol Hill Rosslyn Clarendon Dupont Circle Cleveland Park Adams Morgan Chevy Chase Logan s Circle Columbia Heights
A weekend in the Country The Virginian countryside Good wine, good food, good friends, peach picking, tree frogs, Hummingbirds, rolling hills & good American country style