The Post reports that Vince Gray, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Darrell Issa are considering loosening the Height Act that keeps buildings in D.C. short and squat when the city is running out of land. more ›

This week, architect Frank Gehry was in town to explain himself. more ›

For years, it has sat on the corner of 16th and Fuller Streets NW, a mansion whose regal trappings have been hidden under layers of neglect. But now, the residence that was once used as a home and office for the Spanish ambassador is seeing new life. more ›

Pretty much everyone in D.C. knows of the Cairo apartment building in the Dupont area, on 17th and Q. The tallest residential building in the city, it was responsible for the height laws now in place. more ›

Even though the proposed bubble at the Hirshhorn Museum hasn't yet inflated yet (latest plans for inflation are October 2012) it has won a progressive architecture award from the Architect, the magazine of the American Institute of Architects. The controversial bubble, designed by New York firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, earned praise from the magazine for its playful and vibrant nature. more ›

The National Capital Planning Commission will consider design alternatives for the Frank Gehry-designed Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial this week, which is planned to be installed between 4th and 6th Streets SW south of Independence Avenue, and could see final plenary review later in 2011. But based on reaction to the latest stage of designs, it might not be smooth sailing. more ›

Turns out we weren't the only ones gushing over the Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library, which opened in August -- the Wall Street Journal named the modern facility as one of its best buildings of the year. more ›

Brace yourself: the first Walmart rendering is out, and it actually looks...good. In addition to reporting on the retail behemoth's concession "to consider an array of layouts, designs and parking arrangements," the Post's Jonathan O'Connell did the internets a favor yesterday and shared three high-quality renderings of the proposed Walmart which would be constructed at 801 New Jersey Avenue NW. more ›

The future of Third Church of Christ, Scientist, the controversial building located at 16th and I Streets NW, has been a matter of furious debate for some time. But Jonathan O'Connell brings an update today -- an infusion of cash means plans to demolish the structure and replace it with an office building with a space for the church's congregation to worship are back on track. The property's owner, ICG Properties, plans to submit the required zoning changes sometime in 2011 after Chevy Chase development firm JBG Cos. bought into the project. more ›

Plans to erect a temporary inflatable event space through the middle of the Hirshhorn Museum are moving forward, according to a news release from the Smithsonian Institution. The Hirshhorn has received "supportive comments" from the National Capital Planning Commission for the seasonal bubble, which would be installed twice a year for special events, and the Commission of Fine Arts approved the concept in February. more ›

Superstar architect Frank Gehry unveiled his designs for the future Eisenhower Memorial in Washington, D.C. on Thursday. more ›

Washington arts watchers have been whispering and wondering since The New York Times first reported earlier this week that the Hirshhorn Museum was developing plans to create a 145-foot-tall temporary, inflatable event space. more ›

Perhaps best known throughout the nation for one of his works in Washington – the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial, located along the Tidal Basin – Bay Area landscape architect Lawrence Halprin died on Sunday of natural causes. The FDR Memorial features one of Halprin's boldest waterfall elements, a major feature for which his work was known. Fittingly, Halprin also believed that the well-loved FDR Memorial best represented his accomplishments. For those who have never toured the plaza, the FDR Memorial is divided into sequential landscape arenas, which represent significant stages of the President's life using text, seats, statues, and segmented space. Though the Memorial is driven by narrative and experience, nothing is sacrificed in terms of form or composition. more ›

The Examiner reports today that there's a little bit of controversy brewing over the design for the new Washington Highlands public library branch in Southwest. No big surprise there: when it comes to public libraries in the District, suddenly everyone's an architecture critic. The main arguments presented in the Examiner story seem to be that the design, by famous British architect David Adjaye, is just too weird and doesn't "fit the neighborhood." Presumably, the ANC commissioner quoted in the story would rather have some kind of more classical, square brick building that blends in with the rowhouses around it. Personally, I think it looks pretty rad, but that's the thing about aesthetics, I guess. You can't ever please everyone. more ›

Marc Fisher has the big news that the years-long fight between historic preservationists and the congregation of the Third Church of Christ, Scientist at 16th and I Streets NW appears to have been resolved by the District. more ›

"Have you seen the church?" Judge Robertson asked . . . "Yes, your honor," she replied. more ›

At just over ten thousand words, Larry Van Dyne's Washingtonian article about the history of historic preservation in the District is indisputably thorough. But just about everything else about the article is up for debate. Despite his comprehensive accounting, Van Dyne is careful not to express an opinion of his own — although a reader will inevitably develop her own, if only because of the piece's length. Faced with a list of preservation projects that somehow manages to include two steakhouses, even the most sentimental architecture fan could be forgiven for thinking that this all seems like a hell of a lot of historic preservation. more ›

Wednesday afternoon, the Smithsonian announced a call for architects to design the upcoming National Museum of African American History and Culture, to be erected in the five-acre space on Constitution Avenue between the Washington Monument and the Museum of American History. The building, which will occupy approximately 350,000 square feet, is expected to take three years to complete and cost $500 million. The full announcement is posted on FedBizOpps.gov. more ›

A formidable two-story brick house stands in Georgetown; its exterior gives no hints as to what awaits inside. Once a school for boys in the 1840s, the historic home located at 3014 P St. NW was completely renovated and given over to 15 area interior designers to create the 2008 DC Design House, benefiting the Children's National Medical Center. The interior is a showcase of sophisticated design, style and luxury; perfect for the neighborhood. more ›

When the Kogod Courtyard opened at the Reynolds Center last November, we knew the elegantly curved structure would become a favorite of our keen eyed photographers. Little did we know it would capture worldwide attention: the hoity toity magazine Condé Nast Traveler picked the Courtyard as one of the new Seven Architectural Wonders of the World in its April issue. more ›

Over at Modern Art Notes, blogger Tyler Green has the (hilariously named) MANscoop that the National Gallery of Art is in negotiations to expand across the street from its current location on Constitution Avenue into the Federal Trade Commission building. The deal isn't sealed yet, but Green's sources sound pretty confident that the museum will be moving over to the space in time for a 2012 opening. MAN has a decent history of the two... more ›

We were taken aback by this beautiful photo by Samer Farha in the DCist Flickr pool this morning. After only a quick glance at the tag "Library of Congress," I was trying to place this building somewhere in the city, but then realized this is a shot of the gorgeous architecture of the National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, out in Culpeper, Va. Tucked in the Blue Ridge Mountains, both American and international film, television, and... more ›

We can already tell that the canopy at the new Smithsonian's Kogod Courtyard is going to be one of those Washington, D.C. fixtures that shows up in the pool every week or so. Flickr user cowbellemoo captures the flow of the architecture beautifully here. Who else made it to the opening yesterday? EXIF. more ›

Before the curtain of the second performance of Washington National Opera's new production of Mozart's Don Giovanni on Monday night, conductor Plácido Domingo made an announcement. Happily, it was not to announce a cast change, but to draw the audience's attention to the fact that it was the 220th anniversary of the opera's first performance in Prague (October 29, 1787). This production is not likely to rank high on anyone's list of noteworthy versions of... more ›

When the City Museum closed its door in late 2004 after a mere 18 months in existence, the one place to go for a comprehensive history of Washington, D.C. disappeared. But for those of you interested in the city's history, the next few days should be quite satisfying -- it's time for the annual Washington Studies Conference. The conference, now in its 34th year, kicks off tomorrow at The Carnegie Library building (801 K Street,... more ›

Got your pumpkins carved yet? Flickr user erin*carly helped make this incredible Orange Line pumpkin with some serious design, and won second place it what must surely have been an interesting carving contest. Our other readers may not be going for architecture awards, but their pumpkins are pretty spooky nonetheless. Add your gourd to the DCist pool and tag it with "pumpkin" to show us.... more ›

Written by DCist Contributor Stephanie Taylor Travel + Leisure magazine has released their 2007 list of "America’s Favorite Cities", which ranks D.C. as sub-par in most categories when compared to 24 other U.S. cities. Evaluated by our own residents, we came in a lowly No. 23 on the hotness meter, and No. 22 on the stylish (that’s out of a 1-25 ranking, 25 = bad, not good.) Visitors ranked Washington No. 24 on the people-I-like-to-look-at... more ›

Many of you have already visited the "Solar Village" since it opened its gates last Friday on the National Mall. Last weekend the long lines literally wrapped around each house entered into the 2007 Solar Decathlon, with people eager to get a tour from the students, alumni and faculty from each university competitor. The ten competitions have been judged all week, from Architecture last week to Engineering today, with individual winners announced for each leg... more ›