Photo courtesy the Eisenhower Memorial Commission.
This week, architect Frank Gehry was in town to explain himself. See, it appears as if the National Capital Planning Commission, among others, are a little bit concerned over Gehry’s designs for the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, which call for 80-foot-tall columns and metal tapestries to be installed between 4th and 6th Streets SW south of Independence Avenue.
The planners believe that the design might intrude on views of the Capitol, so Gehry figured he’d come down and have a couple of chats with the stodgy federal folks about his vision. They didn’t go so well, as Philip Kennicott notes:
At a public conversation Wednesday at the National Archives, Frank Gehry encountered hostile questions from audience members about his designs for a memorial to Dwight David Eisenhower planned for a prominent spot on Independence Avenue, just south of the Mall.
And Thursday, he received pointed queries from members of the National Capital Planning Commission, one of the oversight groups that must approve Gehry’s vision before it can be built. Asked about Gehry’s design, three of the former president’s granddaughters issued a statement expressing concern about the “concept for the memorial, as well as the scope and scale of it.” […] Signed by Eisenhower granddaughters Anne, Susan and Mary Jean Eisenhower, their statement expressed gratitude to Congress and the White House for their support of the memorial but called for a timeout in the approval process. “We feel that now is the time to get these elements right — before any final design approvals are given and before any ground is broken.”
Sheesh, it sounds as if the only people who fancy the concept less than local blog commenters are the Eisenhower progency themselves. (One can only wonder if Gehry’s first potential work in the District will end up disappearing under the riptide of Gehry’s trademark reinvention.) After the rough week, it appears as if Gehry is heading back to the drawing board, but he won’t have much time — the memorial’s organizers are pushing for consensus on a preliminary design by December 1, with a groundbreaking in fall 2012.
