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School Days

Education has become a more-than-stable sector (yes, that’s a ringing endorsement these days); thus, EE&K Architects has made it a large part of its portolio, including the just finished School Without Walls in Foggy Bottom.

We snapped Matt Bell, principal at Ehrenkrantz, Eckstut & Kuhn, just after the ribbon-cutting last Friday. (It had walls, by the way. Nicely designed at that.) EE&K did the design work on the 64k SF, 15 month rehab, now up for LEED Gold. EE&K’s also working on plans for George Mason’s Southwest campus expansion; a master plan for GW’s Mt. Vernon campus, and the expansion of Stoddert elementary in Glover Park, 17k SF to 65k. Matt, also a UMd teacher recently took students to a dig in Naples, site of the ancient city of Stabia restoration. (Before you ask, you really do have to be a student to go. Not that we asked.)

EE&K’s also finding stability in the public sector. It just completed a feasibility study to redesign N. Capitol St, above, from its current highway access-style streets to something more pedestrian-friendly. DC’s Office of Planning, DDOT and NCPC are the clients, but plans are on hold until they find dedicated funding, Matt says. As for right now, “it positions the city to be ready to make that transformation when it does have the budget. That will have a positive impact on the value of commercial land in the area.” For more on North Capitol, click here.

Real Estate Bisnow, August 3, 2009

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