Mayor Gray reappoints Maria Casarella to DC Historic Preservation Review Board

On March 15th, D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray formally led the swearing-in ceremony to reappoint Maria Casarella, Associate with Cunningham | Quill Architects, to the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). Ms. Casarella was first appointed in March 2008 by Mayor Adrian Fenty, and is now serving her second term. She is the Chair of the HPRB Sustainability Committee and has been active in developing guidelines to promote sustainable preservation issues.

The DC HPRB is a board of nine members that help guide the government and public on preservation matters, assisting with the implementation of federal preservation programs and the review of federal projects in the District of Columbia.

House of Lebanon is Approved and Designated as a DC Landmark

House of Lebanon (Former Margaret Murray Washington School) Designated as Landmark

The Margaret Murray Washington School (27 O Street NW), built in 1912, will be designated as landmark in the DC Inventory of Historic Sites. Cunningham | Quill Architects plans to restore the building and modify the site to create affordable housing for the District of Columbia. Recently approved by the DC Historic Preservation Review Board on September 29th, the "House of Lebanon" Project will also have multi-purpose recreation and meeting spaces. To learn more about our approvals process, visit our Outreach Approach, or see DC HistoricPreservation for more information on the historic designation and approval of this project.

Roanoke City Market Opens To The Public

On September 3, the Roanoke City Market re-opened to the public with an Open House ceremony.

Exterior of the Roanoke City Market

Originally built in 1922, the building had hosted meat and fish purveyors in a traditional market environment. In the mid-1980s, the market became an international food court, dark and uninviting. To restore the building to its early grandeur as a destination in Downtown Roanoke, Cunningham | Quill Architects began the redesign of the market in 2009. After a year of renovations, the market building is now a light-filled center that incorporates the traditional market feeling with modern vendor spaces. The building also contains non-food vendors, making the market a center for activity throughout the day.

Interior Market Space

The Maples Gains Approval

Restoration and New Construction Approved for The Maples

Cunningham | Quill's restoration and adaptive reuse project in Southeast DC, which dates back to 1796 and was formerly known as Friendship House, is currently being featured on the District of Columbia's Historic Preservation Office website. The DC Historic Preservation Review Board approved final conceptual plans for the restoration and new construction at The Maples (619 D Street SE) on April 28, 2011. To learn more about our approvals process, visit our Outreach Approach, or see DC Historic Preservation for  information on their approval of The Maples.

Sustainable Preservation: Something Old, Something New, Something Green

In March, at the National Building Museum’s “For the Greener Good Series,” Maria Casarella, AIA of Cunningham | Quill Architects took part in a panel discussion with Brendan Owens, VP of LEED Technical Development at USGBC, and Eleni Reed, Chief Greening Officer at GSA to discuss how Historic Preservation Concerns can be Integrated in Sustainability Rating Systems and Regulations.

In continuing the professional movement towards Sustainable Preservation, Maria Casarella, an appointed member of the Washington, DC Historic Preservation Review Board, gave a presentation on this topic at Design DC along with Steve Callcott, the Deputy State Historic Preservation Officer of the DC Historic Preservation Office.

It was an opportunity to educate fellow practitioners about the best methods of evaluation for preservation and green strategies. Several Cunningham | Quill projects were included in the presentation as case studies for sustainable preservation in Washington, DC.

Our design approach thoughtfully integrates historic preservation with the most effective sustainable technologies available. We hope to share with you case studies of our completed and in-design projects that speak to Sustainable Preservation and good building practices in the future.

For the full presentation at Design DC see below for Something Old, Something New, Something Green, or visit the DC Historic Preservation Office for more information on Sustainability in the District of Columbia.