Archinect - News

Former acting Architect of the Capitol sues for employment discrimination

2024-12-06T16:05:00-05:00

Chere Rexroat, the ex-acting Architect of the Capitol who replaced Brett Blanton after a scandal involving personal misuse of the office and title, has filed suit against the agency alleging that she was unfairly passed over for a permanent Deputy Architect role during the new candidate search process this year.

According to Bloomberg Law's reporting, "The suit brings claims of retaliation, intimidation, sex discrimination, and sex plus age discrimination under the Congressional Accountability Act. In addition to seeking retroactive selection as deputy [architect], the complaint asks for backpay, damages, attorneys' fees, and costs."

The outlet also reported that Rexroat is involved currently as a defendant in a separate piece of of employment litigation pertaining to her time in office. Rexroat was replaced by the former Director of Engineering at Arlington National Cemetery, Thomas Austin, in June of this year.

7 new job openings for architects, designers, and managers in Washington, D.C.

2024-10-25T08:00:00-04:00

Looking for attractive architectural career opportunities in Washington, D.C.? Our latest weekly curated jobs roundup from Archinect Jobs highlights seven architecture firms and institutions currently hiring architects, designers, and managers in the capital.

Be sure to follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, and interviewing skills and increase your chances of getting that next job.

The American Institute of Architects seeks a Manager, Climate Action & Design Excellence (remote possible)
"Reporting to the Sr. Director, Climate Action and Design Excellence, the manager is responsible for equipping AIA members with the tools necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public amid challenges for design to mitigate and adapt to climate change and address social inequity in the built environment."

Colleen Healey Architecture seeks a Staff Designer
"Colleen Healey Architecture is a national award-winning design firm that is seeking a full-time St...

Your next role could be leading DC Public Library’s new architecture projects

2024-10-16T11:35:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for an Assistant Professor of Architectural Design, Structures, and Mass Timber at the University of Oregon, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Capital Projects Manager at the DC Public Library.

The role, based in DC with remote opportunities available, calls for an individual to “shepherd the delivery of the assigned new construction and renovation projects” across the library’s extensive portfolio. Among the requirements for the role is a minimum five years of experience in the AEC industry, and a track record of successfully managing concurrent new construction and complex renovation projects.

Related on Archinect: New photos of Mecanoo's refurbished Mies-designed Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in D.C. Image credit: Trent Bell

Why the role interests us

The open role at the DC Public Library offers us the opportunity to take a closer look at the architectur...

Kengo Kuma mysteriously replaces Marlon Blackwell to lead design for the Global War on Terrorism Memorial

2024-10-01T13:13:00-04:00

Kengo Kuma has just been named as the lead architect for the forthcoming Global War on Terrorism Memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Stating that his passion for the work stems from the loss of a personal friend on September 11th, Kuma said: "This Memorial will help the entire world contemplate the war of global significance that has followed that day of sorrow and the experiences of those who have participated in it."

The wartime experience of roughly 2.7 million American servicemembers who took part in the conflict since 2001 will indeed play a role, along with a consideration of the war’s impact on the broader society in whose name it was administered. According to a survey of 20,000 veterans and civilians from all 50 states performed by organizers at the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, the following elements were preferred by a majority (80%) of respondents:

More than 60% of respondents wanted green space around the Memorial, and 50% of respondents hop...

Mabel O. Wilson to deliver 74th A. W. Mellon Lecture in the Fine Arts this spring

2024-09-23T11:32:00-04:00

Mabel O. Wilson, the celebrated multivariate writer and architect, has been announced to deliver the 74th A. W. Mellon Lecture in the Fine Arts at the National Gallery of Art’s Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts in Washington, D.C. The four-part series is being presented under the theme 'America’s Architecture of Freedom and Unfreedom,' which presages Wilson’s forthcoming book on slavery’s role in shaping U.S. civic architecture.

"Wilson’s groundbreaking research on our nation’s architecture, including that which surrounds the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, encourages us to relearn and reconstruct our lived environments, providing new insights and reckonings," Steven Nelson, the dean of the Center, said, speaking to the discoveries latent within her work.

The lectures will take place every Sunday from March 9th to March 30th, 2025.

National Endowment for the Humanities awards $190,000 grant to the ASLA for educator workshop

2024-09-04T15:28:00-04:00

The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced that it has awarded a $190,000 competitive grant to the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Fund.

The grant comes in the form of the Landmarks of American History and Culture award, which aims to support a series of workshops for 72 K-12 educators to study environmental humanities and place-making through the lens of landscape architecture in Washington, D.C. Expert instructors will guide lesson plans on green building, climate resiliency, design sustainability, and diversity-equity-inclusion-justice. The workshop will also include guided site visits to culturally significant landscapes in the Washington D.C. region.

“The more people we invite into the profession of landscape architecture the stronger our communities will become,” said ASLA CEO, Torey Carter-Conneen. “Landscape architecture is a unique blend of art and science. Workshops like this are how we provide a path for students who likely have no idea this ...

Architects Bruce Becker and William J. Lenihan appointed to U.S. Commission of Fine Arts

2024-06-17T14:47:00-04:00

Earlier last month, President Biden’s appointment of architects Bruce Redman Becker and William J. Lenihan to serve on the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) was announced in Washington, D.C. The new appointments serve as replacements for James McCrery and Duncan Stroik following the culmination of their service to the 114-year-old body, which provides important design guidance for all new federal government projects in the capital.

Becker is the President of Westport, Connecticut's Becker + Becker, a 74-year-old firm known most recently for their award-winning redesign of Marcel Breuer's famous Pirelli Tire Building in New Haven. Lenihan is a principal at the Delaware/Philadelphia-based Tevebaugh Architecture. The pair join Billie Tsien, Justin Garrett Moore, HGA principal Peter Cook, and Lisa E. Delplace as other serving CFA members.

Congress appoints engineer Thomas Austin as the next Architect of the Capitol

2024-05-24T14:22:00-04:00

The appointment of military engineer Thomas Austin as the next Architect of the Capitol has been announced by a 12-member bipartisan commission of lawmakers in Washington, D.C.

Austin, a retired Army veteran and the former Director of Engineering at Arlington National Cemetery, will assume the office beginning on June 24th and serve a ten-year term, which soon could be subject to direct congressional oversight after the controversy surrounding predecessor Brett Blanton’s abuse of office.

“The Architect of the Capitol plays a vital role in welcoming millions of visitors to our Capitol and ensuring it is a functional workplace. Thomas Austin has managed construction projects and facilities of all sizes, maintained one of our nation’s most hallowed landmarks, and served our country in the military. We are confident that with his extensive experience, Thomas Austin will be an adept and capable Architect of the Capitol,” the committee’s public statement reads.

Previously on Archinect: ...

AIA presents plans for Global Campus for Architecture & Design at reimagined D.C. headquarters

2024-05-07T17:06:00-04:00

The American Institute of Architects has issued an update on the EHDD-led campaign to redesign its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The organization this week announced a new initiative aimed at bringing different community members together to better professional practice and advance discourse within the field.

According to the press announcement, the complex will reopen as the AIA Global Campus for Architecture & Design in 2025. The new "home base" for design professionals, students, and civic leaders in architecture aims to increase collaboration and serve the "holistic new vision" outlined by EHDD partner Rebecca Sharkey at the project's April 2022 remodel announcement. AIA EVP/CEO Lakisha Ann Woods says it will become a "place where the public can be inspired by the power of design."

Previously on Archinect: AIA announces energy-efficient redesign scheme for its Brutalist D.C. headquarters

Hartman-Cox, Hood Design Studio, and Point Energy Innovations are serving as consultants for...

FreelandBuck's new Washington Metro art installation invites viewers to an engrossing play on perspective

2024-04-23T13:24:00-04:00

FreelandBuck has released images of a recent art installation for the Washington Metro Area Transit Agency (WMATA) in Washington, D.C. Staged as an optical illusion, their new piece titled ‘Tunnel Vision’ works by projecting an image of a metro station over three intersecting aluminum cones that are suspended from the ceiling in the lobby of the organization’s new Alexandria, Virginia, offices.

Image courtesy FreelandBuck and WMATA

The sculpture's grid pattern and convex geometry center a 3D image of an iconic coffered station designed by Harry Weese in the viewer’s vision field, creating the effect of watching a metro train approach while standing on the platform. The firm says, "The piece suggests both realism and familiarity, inciting curiosity for passersby to come take a closer look."

Image courtesy FreelandBuck and WMATA

Brennan Buck, the firm's principal and co-founder, told the Washingtonian magazine recently, "We thought it was just a real...

The Pentagon will install solar panel array as part of $55 million DOD initiative

2024-02-03T08:00:00-05:00

The Pentagon has announced it will be installing a solar panel array on its roof in a historic first that’s part of a new $55 million Department of Defense clean energy initiative at military installations in the United States and Germany.

The DOD has been active in attempting to mitigate the large carbon footprint caused by the U.S. military with similar conservation strategies for several years. The money for the new solar panels is being sourced from a larger Department of Energy program that will spend $104 million in total on 31 projects affecting ten other federal agencies. The DOD says this is necessary to bolster its energy resilience and defense operational capabilities while also improving the quality of life for service members living and working at bases full-time.

"We have a moral obligation to the people that defend our nation, to their famili...

UVA architecture students present ideas for rebuilding a war-torn Ukrainian city to the U.S. Department of State

2024-01-08T14:25:00-05:00

The culmination of the 2023 Fall semester at the University of Virginia saw a contingent of students from UVA’s School of Architecture travel to Washington, D.C., to discuss ideas for rebuilding the war-torn eastern Ukrainian city of Izium upon a special invite from the U.S. Department of State.

Together with Professor Suzanne Moomaw, the cohort of 23 students who participated in the school’s Ukraine Green Recovery Lab were delegated to the National Museum of American Diplomacy in order to present their research to State Department officials, other government representatives, and the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova.

Highlighting topography and other similarities between Izium and Charlottesville, the students presented six phases of a proposed redevelopment to those assembled. What they took away from it was a rewarding experience delivering findings that will, in turn, be presented to the people of Izium for feedback. All in attendance report to have en...

New bipartisan Architect of the Capitol provision could grant congressional oversight for the first time

2023-12-19T17:02:00-05:00

Proactive measures to prevent a repeat of the recent misconduct saga that led to the firing of former Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton have been introduced in Congress as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the upcoming fiscal year.

Under the new bipartisan legislation, Congress would have the sole power to fire any future officeholders for the first time. Its language provides for the establishment of a special oversight commission that would both hire and remove permanent appointees, who currently serve at the pleasure of the sitting president. Advocates say it could potentially help fill the vacancy left in the wake of Blanton’s dismissal earlier this year and help buck an even longer trend of successive appointment delays that dates to the mid-90s.

New York representative Joseph D. Morelle said it “just seemed as though the system needs to be designed to protect the interests of the people here — members, staff … and everyday Americans who come to the...

In BRUTAL DC, Brooks + Scarpa proposes adaptive reuse of Marcel Breuer's landmark 1968 design

2023-10-25T13:49:00-04:00

Brooks + Scarpa has proposed an adaptive reuse renovation of the Marcel Breuer-designed Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C. in an effort to address the chronic issue of empty office space plaguing the city’s economic growth and downtown core.

The proposal is included in a new exhibition at the Southern Utah Museum of Art that examines Brutalism’s past and future potential through seven key structures and Metro station designs. The exhibition includes Diller Scofidio + Renfro's scrapped 'Bubble' reimagining of the Hirshhorn Museum and other schemes from Gensler and students from the UNLV School of Architecture.

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

The inclusion of the 55-year-old Weaver Building is significant as it is the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which wants to position itself in line with industry pushes to build a “just and equitable future for all citizens.”

Image courtesy Brooks + Scarpa

After the p...

Get Lectured: The Catholic University of America, Fall '23

2023-08-28T13:06:00-04:00

We are continuing our Get Lectured series with a look at what’s going on in the fall at the Catholic University of America School of Architecture and Planning in Washington, D.C.

The semester begins on Monday, September 11, with the first Fall 2023 Walton Lecture Series event, titled ‘The Mythic Modern with Travis Price’ featuring the D.C.-based Travis Price Architects founder. It will be followed on October 2 with a special film screening and discussion featuring North Carolina State University Professor Thomas Barrie and current Sage and Coombe Architects Associate Architect Caitlin Watson.

The series continues on October 16 with Professor Adnan Zillur Morshed’s examination ‘Designing the BRAC,’ which considers the potential of architecture as an enabler of human freedom. The lecture precedes the opening of the exhibition on the same topic on October 18. October 30 will see a visit from documentary filmmaker and photographer Chris Rainier. Grace Farms founder/CEO and lauded envir...

Monument Lab’s thought-provoking sculptural installation opens on the National Mall

2023-08-22T18:04:00-04:00

An important new sculptural installation commissioned by the Trust for the National Mall opened in Washington, D.C. last week to the acclaim of critics and visitors who helped inaugurate the seminal first edition of the Beyond Granite series from Philadelphia-based collective Monument Lab.

Images of the six sculptures designed by artists Wendy Red Star, Derrick Adams, vanessa german, Ashon T. Crawley, Tiffany Chung, and Paul Ramírez Jonas were shared, showcasing the beginnings of what should be one of the year’s most significant public art exhibitions. Written in the Washington Post over the weekend, Philip Kennicott commended the new installation as being both well produced and thoughtful, adding that “this is the first time a serious art exhibition has been staged there” before remarking on the role of the Mall as a protest space.

Paul Ramírez Jonas, "Let Freedom Ring" Image: Courtesy of AJ Mitchell | Monument Lab

Other reviews highlighted the unique ability of each sculpture to co...

Monument Lab announces major new commission on the National Mall in Washington

2023-07-26T15:49:00-04:00

Philadelphia-based studio Monument Lab has been announced as the curatorial leader of a new public art installation on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The pilot exhibition of the Trust’s new Beyond Granite series will be on view for a month (August 18th to September 18th) and feature a response to the program’s thematic question about whose stories “remain untold” at the important site using a selection of six prototype monuments designed by artists Wendy Red Star, Derrick Adams, vanessa german, Ashon T. Crawley, Tiffany Chung, and Paul Ramírez Jonas.

Monument Lab founding Director Paul Farber and last year’s Pulitzer Prize for Criticism winner Salamishah Tillet are co-curating the exhibition and say it will treat the monuments as “a statement of power and presence in public.”

“Beyond Granite: Pulling Together builds out platforms for artist-led civic engagement, historical interpretation, and storytelling as a means for advancing what it means to imagine, build, live, and g...

Economic and political obstacles stand in way of office-to-residential conversion projects

2023-07-25T12:12:00-04:00

These conversions seem like a win-win: turning a plethora of barely used office space into desperately needed urban housing. But converting offices into apartments is easier said than done. And while it's easy to imagine the process behind conversions, like adding in walls and plumbing, it gets complicated.

Various cities across the United States have been turning to office-to-residential conversions as a way to address declining city cores that have yet to reach pre-pandemic levels. As noted by NPR, San Francisco is making way for these conversions by adjusting current building codes and getting rid of extra fees. In Washington D.C., the mayor has proposed an increase in tax breaks for owners of downtown office buildings who convert them to housing.

Previously on Archinect: A new Brookings Institution report extends solutions to America's struggling office-to-residential conversion market

While cities are aiming to provide favorable incentives for conversions, the benefits may still fall short due to the many obstacles in front of ensuring a successful project. On top of some office buildings lacking the physical qualities needed to convert to residential, strict zoning rules, as seen in New York City, already determine which buildings can be transformed into housing. And, rezoning ca...

Marlon Blackwell will deliver a new memorial to the Global War on Terror on the National Mall in Washington

2023-07-13T08:00:00-04:00

Marlon Blackwell Architects has been selected as the designer of an important new memorial to veterans and service members lost during America’s decades-long War on Terror on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

The Arkansas-based firm was announced as the project’s lead following a search process that began last summer with submissions from 177 different U.S. and international competitors. Its development will be guided by a newly-created Design Advisory Council (DAC) comprised of Gold Star family members, veterans, and "other stakeholders." The project was commissioned by the nonprofit Global War on Terrorism Memorial Foundation, which was first founded in 2015.

The foundation’s President and CEO Michael “Rod” Rodriguez complemented the designer’s “ability, credibility, and humility to lead the design of an inclusive and reverent Memorial,” adding “Marlon’s proven track record as a world-class designer, combined with his personal experiences in a family with a history of military...

‘Evocative’ truss wraps HWKN’s completed waterfront building in Washington D.C.

2023-06-29T11:35:00-04:00

HWKN has published images of their recently-completed Water Building One project in Washington D.C. The 13,400-square-foot building sits on the edge of the new District Wharf development on the city’s waterfront and is designed for hospitality and to host visiting boat crews.

Image credit: Ryan Fischer

The team describes the scheme as a “taught and graphic” design set against the backdrop of the wider development and is intended as a “new icon to welcome boats to Washington D.C. and visitors to District Wharf.”

Image credit: Ryan Fischer

The defining feature of the building’s exterior is a truss which the architects describe as a “conceptual extension of the long bench that runs along District Wharf’s waterfront.” Behind the truss is a simply detailed glass box with large interior spaces providing uninterrupted views of the Jefferson Memorial and the adjacent waterfront.

Image credit: Ryan Fischer

The project...

Congress' search for the new Architect of the Capitol continues

2023-06-09T12:30:00-04:00

A nationwide hunt is underway for a new architect of the Capitol, the federal official in charge of the operations and maintenance of the Capitol complex — the heart of American democracy and in more recent years, dysfunction. A special congressional commission is searching for potential candidates on university campuses and museum boards, and in the military, major transit systems and even theme parks.

Congress has retained Reffett Associates to aid in its candidate search for the low six-figure position, which sufficed to say, they see as a “unicorn.” The firm has apparently selected more than twenty candidates thus far, with further help from the AIA. Whoever is hired will oversee 18.4 million square feet of facilities (in addition to a yet-remade Union Station) and more than 2,000 employees.

2023 AIA President Emily Grandstaff-Rice says: “This job requires the skills of an architect, especially in terms of space planning. [But] because you have great access to many decision makers within the government, it’s a people-facing position as well.”

Thomas J. Caroll, who served in an acting role before Brett Blanton's tenure, told the New York Times, “Getting away was a great break.”

Perkins&Will will design the new Bezos Learning Center for the National Air and Space Museum

2023-06-06T15:03:00-04:00

Perkins&Will has just been announced as the lead designers of the new Bezos Learning Center at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The firm’s winning design was selected over a shortlist that included five anonymous proposals submitted by leading global architectural firms.

The center is supposed to be enacted in the space once occupied by Gyo Obata’s now-demolished glass pyramid structure from 1988. Once completed, the new addition will entail approximately 50,000 square feet of exhibition spaces, a rooftop terrace, a public observatory, and dining options. Its spiraling form is meant to evoke the shape of the galaxy. Total costs for the project are expected to be around $130 million.

“The spiral galaxy — our source of creative inspiration — is all about infinite possibilities,” the project's lead designer, Ralph Johnson, says of its conceptual approach and vision. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work with the Smithsonian Institut...

AIA gets involved in the search for the next Architect of the Capitol

2023-05-24T17:16:00-04:00

With disgraced former Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton now facing punishment for his misuse of office, the American Institute of Architects (AIA) has announced their involvement in the Congressional search process to find a new permanent head for the over 2,000-person office.

The Institute says it has representatives working with both Congress and the executive search firm that was hired to aid in the search for the new AOC position, which is currently held on an interim basis by Chere Rexroat.

Blanton was fired by President Biden in mid-February after a three-month investigation into his alleged wrongdoings, which reportedly entailed the use of government-owned vehicles and an incident where he deliberately misrepresented himself as a law enforcement official, among a choice of actions labeled as “fraud, waste, and abuse against not only the AOC but also the taxpayer” by the federal Inspector General.

Other key staffers were let go last month as a product of their involve...

AIA is seeking a manager for their climate action and design excellence initiatives

2023-05-17T08:39:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Digital Fabricator / Model Designer at Safdie Architects, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Manager of Climate Action & Design Excellence at the American Institute of Architects.

The role, based in Washington DC with the possibility of a remote work structure, calls for an individual who will be “responsible for equipping AIA members with the tools necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public amid challenges for design to mitigate and adapt to climate change and address social inequity in the built environment.” Among the qualifications requested for the position are a bachelor’s degree in architecture or a related field, as well as knowledge of climate change mitigation and adaptation issues.

Related on Archinect: AIA presents 2023 Architecture Awards winners

Why the role interests us

The open role at the AIA offers applicants the opportuni...

Featured architecture jobs in Washington DC

2023-05-12T07:26:00-04:00

Continuing with our weekly job employment highlights, we're featuring seven firms looking for junior associates, project managers, marketing coordinators, and more in the Washington DC area.

Looking for new employment opportunities? Be sure to explore the Archinect Job board which features 100+ new jobs every week.

The American Institute of Architects seeks a Manager, Climate Action & Design Excellence

Details: "The American Institute of Architects (AIA), a leading advocacy organization for the architecture profession, is looking for a committed individual to serve as Manager, Climate Action & Design Excellence. Reporting to the Sr. Director of Climate Action and Design Excellence, the individual will be instrumental in equipping AIA members with tools to address challenges of climate change and social inequity in the built environment. Tasks include programmatic and project planning, resource management, member education, and coordinating opportunities for Climate Action and Desig...

KieranTimberlake completes three-year Folger Shakespeare Library revamp

2023-04-26T16:40:00-04:00

Washington, D.C.’s Folger Shakespeare Library has set an opening date following a three-year $80 million renovation led by KieranTimberlake.

November 17th will mark the public reopening of the collecting institution, which was founded in 1932 by Standard Oil executive Henry Clay Folger. The project seeks to revamp the library’s aging Capitol Hill facilities while constructing a new, 12,000-square-foot underground wing that will supplement the overhauled original Paul Cret design with two large exhibition spaces, a learning lab, and a new gift store.

Image courtesy Studio Joseph

Landscaping design by OLIN will complete the program with a set of surrounding gardens to the site’s east and west orientations. Native plants and vegetation inspired by the bard’s long oeuvre welcome visitors into the revamped existing space, which now features the learning lab, a set of new study rooms, and exhibition designs by Studio Joseph and Studio A.

Image courtesy Studio Joseph

Retained bas-reliefs hav...

Architecture students will reconstruct an original Buckminster Fuller geodesic dome at the National Museum of American History this summer

2023-04-14T14:00:00-04:00

A new collaborative project between the Catholic University of America and the National Museum of American History will offer architecture students the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to repair and reconstruct one of Buckminster Fuller’s famed geodesic domes in the hopes of presenting such structures as a viable resilience tool to be used by designers in the ongoing fight against climate change.

Beginning in early July, a group of students from the school’s undergrad and graduate programs will work together on the reconstruction of the more than 70-year-old The Weatherbreak design created by Fuller protégé Jeffrey Lindsay in the museum’s Flag Hall.

Under the guidance of assistant professor Tonya Ohnstad, lead fabricator Lorenzo Cardim DeAlmeida, and museum curator Abeer Saha, the group will explore its potential usage as affordable, resilient housing. This is the first time the structure will be displayed to the public since entering the museum’s collection and represents the first ...

HOK CEO and Chairman Bill Hellmuth passes away aged 69

2023-04-10T18:00:00-04:00

HOK has announced the passing of CEO and chairman Bill Hellmuth on April 6th at the age of 69 following a long illness.

Hellmuth had been in the chairman’s post since 2017 after serving as the firm’s president since 2005. Working out of HOK’s D.C. office, where he remained as a design principal throughout, he helped lead the development of several well-recognized projects both in domestic markets and internationally. Hellmuth, whose work won 29 AIA awards, originally joined the firm in 1991 at founder Gyo Obata’s personal urging after practicing in New York for 14 years.

King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center Residential Community. Image courtesy HOK.

A firm statement said: “Hellmuth was exceptionally optimistic about the ability of design to improve people’s lives. A strong advocate of sustainable design, he believed architects had a moral obligation to design projects with minimal impact to the environment. Under his tenure, HOK designed hundreds of green-certified pro...

Acting Architect of the Capitol fires key former Blanton era staffers

2023-04-07T17:56:00-04:00

Several members of the Architect of the Capitol’s leadership team were fired Thursday, according to an internal email obtained by CQ Roll Call and two aides familiar with the matter, in a further shakeup at the agency after the February removal of its head, J. Brett Blanton. The AOC’s general counsel, chief financial officer, chief administrative officer, CEO for visitor services and chief of staff were removed Thursday, one senior congressional aide said Friday.

Each staffer had been overseen by the now-former disgraced Architect of the Capitol Brett Blanton, who was finally fired in early February after being accused of using his office inappropriately. The new Acting Architect of the Capitol Chere Rexroat was immediately appointed in his absence. She holds a bachelor's degree in Environmental Design and Architecture from Texas A&M University and is a licensed Architect in California.

According to Roll Call, the employees cited were named in a follow-up Inspector General's report that outlined their apparent failures to act on tips alerting them to Blanton's abuse of privileges while in office.

Editors Note, April 8, 2023: An earlier version of this article misstated the number of fired staffers. This has been corrected.

Elyn Zimmerman’s Marabar sculpture redebuts as Sudama in D.C.

2023-04-04T19:19:00-04:00

Artist Elyn Zimmerman’s 1984 Marabar sculpture has been officially rededicated on the campus of Washington, D.C.’s American University after a yearslong preservation effort spearheaded by The Cultural Landscape Foundation (TCLF).

A reconfiguration of the site-specific 225-ton granite sculpture was installed next to the school’s Kay Spiritual Life Center over the last year after being moved from the courtyard surrounding the National Geographic Society headquarters in order to make room for a new plaza expansion designed by Hickock Cole and OLIN.

TCLF President Charles Birnbaum said: “Though we regret the loss of Marabar at its original location, we are pleased that its creator, artist Elyn Zimmerman, with the support of National Geographic, retained the ability to control its reconfiguration and relocation to the American University campus. Had TCLF not intervened beginning in March 2020, when the artist was resigned to the loss of one of her most important works, Zimmerman's instal...