Monday, February 8, 2021
ARC Members attending: Christine Hobbs, Ron Ngiam, Stefan Hurray, Phil Eagleburger, Ana Evans, Lois Orr, Danny Ince, Tina Mead, Win Brown, David Kay, and Anne Weir. Also attending were Rick Nash, President of the Cleveland Park Historical Society and Camilla Carpenter, Executive Director, Cleveland Park Historical Society.
This meeting was held via ZOOM.
3410 Rodman Street, N.W.
Agent: Cal Bowie, Bowie Gridley Architects
Built in 1915 and a contributing structure in the Historic District, 3410 Rodman St. is part of an assemblage of a dozen houses on Rodman and 35th Streets. While some of the houses have added relatively modest side or rear additions in the past, the grouping is largely intact with visibly shared front and rear green space. This project was originally presented to the ARC in December 2020. At that time, the ARC commended the nuanced design and the attention to detail in the design of the addition to the house, but the ARC thought that the proposed addition was too large given the size and scale of the original house and that the addition would intrude into the “shared” green space, a concern expressed by a number of the neighbors, as well. A smaller addition and a hipped roof were suggested.
A revised proposal for the house has been developed. The revision includes a reduction in the length of the addition primarily by eliminating the proposed rear screened porch (and approximately 2 ft of the proposed two-story addition), a reduction in the width of the proposed addition, and a hipped, rather than gable, roof.
The ARC commends the proposed redesign of the addition in response to the issues raised previously, particularly the hipped roof, the differentiation between the old and the new by the use of a hyphen, and the use of bays. The presence of other additions and garages in this block is also noted as is the fact that this proposed addition is primarily in the rear of the house.
Four of ten ARC members had no objection to the revised proposal.
However, the ARC also recognizes the unique nature of this particular assemblage of houses, tightly designed houses on relatively narrow lots with visibly shared green space. The ARC remains concerned about the massing of the proposed addition; specifically, the second story and suggests exploring a step back on this level.
This motion passed 6-4, with one recusal. CPHS staff was not present during the closed discussion. (As noted above, four members had no objection to the proposal.)
