ABSTRACT
Title of Document:
Redeveloping Marie Reed Community Learning 
Center: A Study in Community-Based Design
Mark Joseph McKevitz, Masters of Architecture, 2005
Directed By: Professor Brooke Wortham, School of Architecture, 
Planning, and Historic Preservation
The recent redevelopment of the Adams-Morgan neighborhood, in Washington, D.C. is astounding.  
The district has gone from an underground arts center, to an immigrant quarter to a wealthy, 
desirable urban area in about 30 years.  The Marie Reed Community Learning Center anchors the 
south end of the district.  The building is more than a school: it also houses a community pool and 
recreation center, and a low-cost health clinic.  
In this thesis, I will explore the idea of true community design and development by using the skills 
and knowledge I have acquired in my studies to assist the Adams Morgan residents generate 
proposals for redevelopment of this site.  Thus, this thesis will be as much about the process as it 
is about the product.  I will borrow and adapt the methodology of Walter Hood, Maurice Cox, and 
others ? implementing design by observation and with the assistance of the community.
THE REDEVELOPMENT OF THE MARIE REED COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER:
A STUDY IN COMMUNITY-BASED DESIGN
By
Mark Joseph McKevitz
Thesis submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the 
University of Maryland, College Park, in partial ful?llment
of the requirements for the degree of
Master of Architecture
2005
Advisory Committee:
Dr. Brooke Wortham, Chair
Professor Guido Francescato
Professor Tom Schumacher
ii
Figure 1.  Overhead photo of Marie Reed Community Learning Center (MRCLC)
Figure 2.  1937 Sanborn Plat Map
Figure 3.  Marie Reed site and how it changed over time
Figure 4.  1965 Sanborn Map
Figure 5.  GIS Slope Analysis
Figure 6.  MRCLC Main Entrance
Figure 7.  MRCLC South Fa?ade
Figure 8.  MRCLC Site Plan
Figure 9.  18
th
 Street Facades
Figure 10.  18
th
 Street Building Stock
Figure 11.  18
th
 Street Facades part II
Figure 12.  Land Use Map
Figure 13.  Site Drainage Issues
Figure 14.  Site Sections -  The longer sections run north south
Figure 15.  People Walking in Adams Morgan after the 2003 Blizzard
Figure 16.  Latino Population (Percent) in Adams Morgan
Figure 17.  African-American Population (Percent) in Adams Morgan
Figure 18.  Household Income in Adams Morgan
Figure 19.  Family Size (Average) in Adams Morgan
Figure 20.  Families in Poverty (Percent) in Adams Morgan
Figure 21.  Housing Units in Adams Morgan
Figure 22.  Walter Hood, Process, Durant Park
Figure 23. Rural Studio Community Center, Hale County
Figure 24. Residents and Legilators at the new Bayview, Virginia
Figure 25. Diamond Ranch High School
Figure 26. Diamond Ranch High School Site Plan
Figure 27. Diamond Ranch High School Section
Figure 28. Diamond Ranch High School Program Distribution
Figure 29. Diamond Ranch High School Circulation
Figure 30. Diamond Ranch High School Exterior
Figure 31.  Glasgow School of Art
Figure 32.  Window detail - re?ecting the Celtic history and in?uence
Figure 33.  Interior - Gallery
Figure 34.  Entry Pylon Detail
Figure 35. Glasgow School of Art Plan
Figure 36. Glasgow School of Art Program Distribution Diagram
Figure 37. Glasgow School of Art Circulation Diagram
Figure 38. Glasgow School of Art Vertical Circulation Diagram
Figure 39. Greater Hartford Academy Leraning Corridor Site Plan
Figure 40.  One reading of the Site Plan - two separate spaces
Figure 41.  Second reading of the Site Plan - overlapping spaces
Figure 42.  Greater Hartford Academny Northwest corner
Figure 43.  Greater Hartford Academy - High School
Figure 44.  Third reading of Site Plan - very separate
Figure 45.  Strawberry Vale School Plan Diagram
Figure 46.  Strawberry Vale School Diagram - Circulation and Program Distribution
Figure 47.  Strawberry Vale School Exterior
Figure 48.  Strawberry Vale School ? Interior
Figure 49.  Museum of the Earth ? Model
Figure 50.  Museum of the Earth - Exploded Isometric drawing showing the multiple courtyards
Figure 51.  Museum of the Earth -Geological In?uences (top) and Perspective Site Plan
List of Figures
iii
Figure 52.  Of?ce dA - Brick Details - Tongxian Art Center and Gatehouse
Figure 53.  Tongxian Art Center - Computer Rendering
Figure 54.  Tongxian Art Center ? Gatehouse
Figure 55.  Tongxian Art Center Model and Section
Figure 56.  Tongxian Art Center Model
Figure 57.  Tongxian Art Cneter ? Gatehouse
Figure 58.  MRCLC Pool
Figure 59. MRCLC Theater
Figure 60. MRCLC Topological Diagram
Figure 61.  Typical Adams Morgan Street Scene
Figure 62.  Marble Fairbanks Chicago Public School Building Competition Winner
Figure 63. Overhead Perspective of Site
Figure 64.  MRCLC from the south
Figure 65.  MRCLC south site playground
Figure 66.  MRCLC Axonometric
Figure 67.  MRCLC Axonometric with height exaggerated four fold
Figure 68.  MRCLC Axonometric - with site accentuated
Figure 69.  PEPCO Sub-station
Figure 70.  The current site (left) will be divided in two, and Champlain Street reopened (center).  The eastern part of 
the original site will be sold to condominium developers (right).
Figure 71.  Initial Scheme 1 - Replacing Thos. P. Morgan School
Figure72.  Scheme 2 - Signi?cant Urban Design Changes with a U-shaped school, and separate Community Center on 
the south side
Figure 73.  Scheme 3 - The urban design changes of scheme 2 remain.  The school and community center become a 
west-facing, U-shaped con?guration
Figure 74.  A wind rose is modeled, and then the form and data are used to create the parti, bottom right
Figure 75.  The three step process to determine the form of the visual hot spots
Figure 76.  Site Plan - Bar Scheme
Figure 77.  Schematic Plans - Entry Level, Ground Level, Second Level
Figure 78.  Schematic Plans - Third Floor, Fourth ?oor and Roof
Figure 79.  Bar Scheme Axon and Section
Figure 80.  Donut Scheme - Site Plan
Figure 81.  Donut Scheme - Plans and Section
Figure 82.  E Scheme - Site Plan
Figure 83.  E Scheme - Plans - First Floor, Ground Floor, and Second Floor
Figure 84.  E - Scheme ? Axonometric
Figure 85.  E - Scheme - Section
Figure 86.  Final Drawings - Sections, Section Perspectives, Elevations
Figure 87.  Final Drawings - Plans, Site Plans
Table of Contents
Abstract         i
List of Tables         ii
List of Figures         ii
Chapter 1: Site History        1
 General         2
 Overview        4
 Topography        6
 Social         7
Chapter 2: Site Analysis        8
 Physical        9
 Societal         13
Chapter 3: Precedents        20
 Process         21
 Physical        23
  Diamond Ranch High School     34
  Glasgow School of Art      25
  Greater Hartford Academy of Arts and Sciences   26
  Strawberry Valley School     26
  Museum of the Earth      28
  Sumner School       29
  Tongxian Art Center and Gatehouse    29
Chapter 4:  Building Program                                                                                     34
Chapter 5:  Conceptual Design Strategies     39
 Design Goals and Approach      40
 Design Goals ? Process       40
 Design Approach ? Type       41
 Design Approach ? Building      42
 Design Challenges ? Site      44
 Initial Partis        48
 Additional Site Investigation      51
 Partis and Initial Plans       53
Chapter 6: Conclusion                                                                                                63
Appendix         66
1
Site History
2
Site History | Overview
The Adams-Morgan neighborhood is just outside L?Enfant?s Washington, D.C., both literally and 
?guratively.  It sits on the slope that divides L?Enfant?s plan from the area that L?Enfant wouldn?t 
touch because of the topography.  The area originally served the upper middle-class, yet after 
WWII it became the center for the counter-culture, arts, and protest.  The evolution continues 
today, as the wealthy move back in, and the artists and immigrants try to retain their presence in 
the neighborhood.
This selection of this site and project is based on two articles, one in the Intowner, the other in D.C. 
Figure 1. Overhead Photograph of the Marie Reed Community Learning Center Site
3
North.  The articles spoke about real estate prices in the District of Columbia, and how developers 
have looked for available land to create new housing.  The Marie Reed Community Learning 
Center (MRCLC) occupies a four and one-half acre site in the middle of Adams-Morgan, and is ripe 
for redevelopment.  The current building was constructed in 1978, but created many site liabilities 
in the neighborhood.
The community leaders from One Adams Morgan and the Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C 
(ANC 1C) spoke of wanting to redevelop the site following the model set forth by the Oyster School 
and the 21
st
 Century School Fund, wherein a public-private partnership is formed, public land is 
sold to private developers, and with those pro?ts a new school is constructed.  The author of this 
Figure 2. 1937 Sanborn Plat Map
4
paper liked the idea of working with the community to help create a school design that the residents 
would like, and a site plan that would be feasible for developers.
Site History | General
Adams-Morgan, while once a transportation route for Native Americans and horse-drawn carriages, 
sat undeveloped until the late nineteenth century.  The District of Columbia, up until that point, had 
been content to grow within the boundaries of the L?Enfant plan of 1791.  With the advent of public 
transit, and the rising land costs within the city rising, development spread.
In 1893, the northern section of the Marie Reed Community Learning Center (MRCLC) site, 
adjacent to Kalorama Road, had been declared a park.  The location of the park appears to 
be random; however, the 1896 plat map shows the true motivation, as the U.S. Army Corp of 
Engineers put a water pumping station near the center of the site, which still stands and is in use to 
this day.  The pump station and its owner, the United States government, ensured that the northern 
boundary of the MRCLC would remain a park.
Figure 3. 
Changes to the 
MRCLC site 
from 1893 to 
1978
1893 1896 1903
1919 1937 1978
5
0 50 100 150 20025
Feet
Slope Analysis
The neighborhood grew around but not in the park.  By 1903, the Thomas P. Morgan School 
opened at the south end of the site.  The building sat at the south end of the MRCLC site, and 
developers built a series of rowhouses to along V Street and Florida Avenue.  By 1913, a series of 
apartment buildings developed on the east side of 18
th
 Street.
As the automobile became more common in the 1920s, Champlain Street evolved to serve 
this need; a series of car repair centers and gas stations were built along the street.  This trend 
continued into the 1960s as the Cherner Motors Corporation opened an automobile showroom on 
the northeast corner of Champlain Street and Florida Avenue.
Figure 4. 1964 Sanborn Plat Map
Figure 5. Slope Analysis
6
With the introduction of automobile support services, the east side of Champlain Street, near the 
MRCLC, became primarily an industrial area.  Two industrial icons of the area, Federal Storage 
and the Potomac Electric Power Company electricity sub-station were built by 1937 east of the site 
continue, and continue to be a detriment.
Site History | Topography
The topography of the area has had an enormous impact on the development.  The L?Enfant plan 
for Washington, D.C. stops right before the MRCLC because of the slope.  Boundary Street, now 
Florida Avenue, sits at the bottom of an enscarpment that runs from the Potomac River in the west, 
arcs around to the Anacostia River to the east.  This natural boundary prevented L?Enfant from 
pushing his plan further north.
The slope of the neighborhood affected the street grid as well.  Champlain Street is a natural gully 
draining directly to the Florida Avenue Basin.  The topography determined the path of this street, 
which in turn determined the crank in 18th Street at the intersection of Kalorama Road.  If 18
th
 
Street had continued due north, it would have connected with Champlain, creating an awkward 
block.
The MRCLC site has used the slope to its advantage by burying two parts of the building, the 
recreation center and the health clinic.  These parts of the building are underground.  However, 
because of the gully-effect of Champlain Street, the health clinic is glazed on the west side, and the 
recreation center is glazed on the south side on the basement ?oor.
7
Site History | Social
The Adams-Morgan neighborhood developed around the turn of the century as public transit 
allowed the city to spread.  The area appears to have been a stable, uneventful upper-middle 
class neighborhood until after World War II and the Supreme Court rulings on desegregation.  As 
infrastructure for the automobile increased and Washington spread farther out, Adams-Morgan 
went into a period of decline.
In the 1950s, Adams-Morgan began to acquire the character it has today.  ?The charm of Adams-
Morgan isn?t cosmetic, it is rather one of sense, of attitude, and it?s dif?culty to identify but not hard 
to feel it once you?ve been there long enough.?
1
  As more well-to-do citizens left the neighborhood, 
a new population moved in ? a mix of young, immigrants, African-Americans and Italian-Americans.  
The neighborhood earned its name during this time as ?community activists combined the names 
of two neighborhood schools predominantly white Adams and predominantly black Morgan.?
2
In the 1960s and 1970s, Adams-Morgan was the center of counterculture movements and protests 
in the District.  The neighborhood also became an arts and culture center during this time.  The 
national trend of punk music was locally based in Adams-Morgan, and nationally renown Bad 
Brains got their start at clubs in the area. Also in the 1970s, the MRCLC was constructed and the 
old Thomas P. Morgan school torn down.
In response from various civil wars and general upheaval, the 1980s saw an in?ux of immigrants 
from El Salvador, Nicaragua, and other Central American countries.  The in?uence of this 
population is seen throughout the neighborhood with businesses providing services to both 
Spanish and English speakers.  
8
Site Analysis
9
Site Analysis | Physical
The Marie Reed Community Learning Center resides in the northwest quadrant of the District 
of Columbia.  The building and site are in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood, and occupy nearly 
5 acres in a very desirable area of the city; thus, there is immense pressure to redevelop the 
MRCLC.
The MRCLC is a three-story building in a neighborhood primarily comprised of three-story row 
houses.  Adams-Morgan is currently undergoing a housing boom; however, and new four and ?ve 
story apartment and condominium buildings are being developed.  Champlain Street has been the 
Figure 7. Marie Reed South Facade
Figure 6.  Marie Reed Main Entrance
Figure 8.  Marie Reed Site Plan
10
center of this development.  Due to its industrial history, lackluster buildings, and abundance of 
surface parking lots, real estate has been easy to acquire and build on.  The physical nature of the 
neighborhood is in ?ux.
The new, larger-scale buildings, along with the existing building stock, mostly use brick or stone 
as the material of choice.  The newer buildings in the neighborhood tend toward hanging brink 
on steel or concrete frames, rarely using masonry as structure.  The new Adams Row lofts, at the 
northeast corner of Champlain Street and Kalorama Road are typical of new development in the 
area.
Figure 10.  Typical Adams Morgan Building Stock
Figure 9.  18th Street Facades
11
Eighteenth Street serves as the main street of 
Adams-Morgan.  It is largely commercial on the 
ground ?oor, with of?ces and some housing above.  
The majority of the commercial ventures are night 
clubs, restaurants, and cafes; however, there are 
music, clothing, and home furnishing stores as well.
The MRCLC site is quite bereft of trees, however, 
the surrounding area has a fair amount of street 
foliage.  The MRCLC has a large issue with 
drainage and there is little in the way of pervious 
surfaces.  This is partly due to the density of 
the neighborhood, and the program of the site.  
The northwestern section of the site is almost 
completely paved with tennis and basketball courts, 
while the southeast section remains a grass playing 
?eld.
The MRCLC site has a signi?cant slope that runs 
from northwest to southeast on the site.  The grade 
drops 36 feet over a distance of 692 feet.  There is 
a 25 foot drop from west to east across the middle 
of the site.
The current MRCLC building runs primarily north-
south.  The long, west fa?ade is largely brick with 
narrow, vertical windows.  The building bridges 
Figure 12.  Land Use Map
Figure 13.  Site Drainage Issues
Figure 11.  18th Street Facades
12
over a closed Champlaign Street.  According to residents, the intent of the architect was to provide 
a place for teenagers to meet and hang out.  The unfortunate and unintended consequences have 
been crime and vandalism.  
The eastern section of the MRCLC contains the health clinic and daycare, and is a more 
centralized form.  The east wing of the building is setback from Ontario Street, and has play areas 
out in front.  The east edge of the building has little in the way of pervious surfaces as well.
The inward focus of the building, along with its physical separation from anything around it, makes 
it a fortress within the city.  The lack of transparency on any fa?ade makes the building more 
foreboding as well.
Figure 14.  Site Sections -  The longer sections run north south
13
Site Analysis | Societal
The Adams-Morgan neighborhood has been a melting pot since the 1950s.  The area continues to 
be in a diverse state between wealth and poverty, immigrant and native, new and old.  The most 
telling statistics involve family income, family size, race and ethnicity.
The current socio-economic trend in Adams-Morgan is the in migration of wealthy, childless 
individuals and couples, and the resilient and large Latino population, mostly from El Salvador.  
The schisms in the neighborhood can be seen on the following series of maps.  When seen in 
Figure 15.  People Walking in Adams Morgan after the 2003 Blizzard
14
Figure 16.  Latino Population (Percent) in 
Adams Morgan
15
Figure 17.  
African-American Population (Percent) in 
Adams Morgan
16
Figure 18.  Household Income in 
Adams Morgan
17
Figure 19.  Family Size (A
verage) in 
Adams Morgan
18
Figure 20.  Families in Poverty (Percent) in 
Adams Morgan
19
series, one realizes that the Latino and African-American population is incredibly concentrated 
between Columbia Road and Kalorama Road.  This area also displays the largest percentage of 
the population in poverty, along with the largest family size, and the lowest household income in the 
area.  This reveals that the African-American and Latino populations have the largest families with 
the least income.  This series of maps helps to explain the fact that the student population at the 
MRCLC is seventy-?ve percent Latino and twenty-?ve percent black.  The incoming professionals 
and empty nesters have the most wealth and are moving into the neighborhood from west to east.
Figure 21.  Housing Units in Adams Morgan
20
Precedents
21
Figure 23. Rural Studio Community Center, Hale 
County
Precedents | Process
The design process is the heart of this thesis, thus, there are three process precedents that are 
included in this section.  I have included the work of Walter Hood at Hood Design, the Rural Studio 
at Auburn University, and Maurice Cox, faculty at University of Virginia, and founding member of 
RBGC Architecture, Research & Urbanism to better understand the process of designing with and 
within the community.
Maurice Cox has been called ?the country?s foremost practitioners of democratic design: That is, 
he understands that design?s impact grows when the designer allies himself with many partners.?
1
  
Figure 22.  Walter Hood, Process, Durant Park
Figure 24. Residents and Legilators at the new 
Bayview, Virginia
22
Maurice Cox teamed up with Alice Coles, the head of Bayview Citizens for Social Justice, to 
redesign the town of Bayview.  While Mrs. Coles served as the catalyst for change, Maurice Cox 
provided his specialized knowledge to help the community design the change.  He worked with the 
community to include elements that are physical manifestations of their culture ? front porches, 
barber/beauty shop ? in the ?nal design.
The Rural Studio at Auburn University has been dealing with the issue of poverty in Hale County, 
Alabama for nearly ten years.  The founder and leader, Samuel Mockbee, believed in not only 
designing for less-than-privileged clients, he advocated living in the area, to better understand 
the client, the site, and the culture.  The Rural Studio has designed and built many houses and 
structures for the people of Hale County, and the students continuously comment on how much 
knowledge they learn from the process.
Finally, Walter Hood designs for the community in a different way.  He designs by observation.  
Hood follows a process he describes as ?improvisation.?
2
  He incorporates intensive site visits at 
the beginning of the process, and records the current (and perhaps unintended) uses and sketches 
potential interventions on the site.  These ?urban diaries? slowly evolve from abstract diagrams 
to site-speci?c designs.  His interventions speci?cally address the use and users of the site ?rst, 
setting aside speci?c space for local, neighborhood needs.
In undertaking this thesis, the author will borrow and adapt the aforementioned processes, 
speci?cally, the urban diary of Walter Hood, and the community meeting/design strategy of Alice 
Coles and Maurice Cox.  The Friends of Marie Reed, the MRCLC Parent-Teacher Association, the 
Kalorama Citizens Association, and members from the District of Columbia Of?ce of Planning, have 
scheduled three meetings for this summer that will be attended by the author of this paper.  The 
outcome of these meetings will be a community-based agenda, and potentially building program, 
for a new MRCLC.  Furthermore, an urban journal will be recorded over the course of the summer.  
23
Figure 25. Diamond Ranch High School
Figure 26. Diamond Ranch High School Site Plan
The school grounds, the building, and the users, will be diagrammed and dissected in order to 
create a better design for a new school.
Precedents | Physical
The outcome of this thesis will involve multiple building types and interventions into the site on the 
urban, building, and landscape level.  The precedents selected address issues related to type, use, 
site plan, formal attributes, and tectonic qualities.  Some of the precedents selected address only 
one of the aforementioned characteristics, while others have multiple features to study.
24
Diamond Ranch High School, Morphosis, Pomona, California (1998)
This precedent was selected for many reasons: site plan, program, interior-exterior relationship, 
and form.  The buildings of the Diamond Ranch campus are set into a site that slopes downward 
from south to north.  The buildings are connected with a similar architectural language and the 
primary circulation is on the exterior.  The program is similar to this thesis; however, it is a high 
school, and not an elementary school.
The relationship of building program to the plan displays a common thread throughout most school 
designs ? the classrooms are separated from the administration, gymnasium, library, and cafeteria 
Figure 27. Diamond Ranch High School Section
Figure 28. Diamond Ranch High School Program Distri-
bution
Figure 29. Diamond Ranch High School Circulation
Figure 30. Diamond Ranch High School Exterior
25
of the school.  Between the classrooms and larger scale items, Thom Mayne places the student 
center for Diamond Ranch High School, revealing a metaphorical link of student and teacher.
The main circulation of the Diamond Ranch campus is outside.  The climate of southern 
California makes this possible.  While it may not be possible to have as direct a relationship to the 
outdoors, one goal of this thesis is to design in the option and possibility for direct interior-exterior 
relationships.
Glasgow School of Art, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Glasgow, Scotland (1897-1909)
The school is in a dense urban setting, and while there is no need for a playground, it is a similar 
Figure 31.  Glasgow School of Art
Figure 32.  Window detail - re?ect-
ing the Celtic history and in?uence
Figure 33.  Interior - Gallery
Figure 34.  Entry Pylon Detail
26
Figure 35. Glasgow School of Art Plan
Figure 36. Glasgow School of Art Program Distribution 
Diagram
Figure 37. Glasgow School of Art Circulation Diagram
Figure 38. Glasgow School of Art Vertical Circulation 
Diagram
building program.  The elements to study and adapt 
include the building footprint and urban stature; the 
use of a regionalist details, building vocabulary and 
building tradition; and the controlled daylighting.
Greater Harford Academy of the Arts: Academy for 
Math and Science, Tai Soo Kim Partners, Hartford, 
Connecticut (2000)
The Academy for Math and Science has a very 
similar context, with small to medium scale 
residential buildings surrounding the site.  
The site plan is dense and well conceived.  The 
program is broken up into an urban campus, 
wherein there is a pedestrian walkway that runs 
east-west through the site.  The Academy is spread 
over ?ve buildings, housing a K-12 student body.  
The block that the schools are on also contains 
some housing to the south.  The site is 16 acres, 
about four times the size of the MRCLC.
Strawberry Vale School, Patkau Architects, Victoria, 
British Columbia (1994)
The school is easily adaptable to the small school 
idea, as a central circulation space creates 
opportunities for shared uses on one side, and 
small schools within schools on the other side.
27
Figure 39. Greater Hartford Academy Leraning Corridor 
Site Plan
N
Figure 43.  Greater Hartford Academy - High 
School
Figure 42.  Greater Hartford Academny Northwest 
Figure 40.  One reading of the Site Plan 
- two separate spaces
Figure 41.  Second reading of the Site 
Plan - overlapping spaces
Figure 44.  Third reading of Site Plan 
- very separate
28
Museum of the Earth, Weiss/Manfredi, Ithaca, New York, (2000)
The building, while small, deals with the site in a clever way.  The approach to the buildings and 
their form is derived from the local topography.  The architects have used to the land formation to 
create an abstract, didactic form ? revealing to the viewer the nature of the site.  
The building is nestled into the site, at the edge of a steep change in grade.  The promenade to the 
edge of the site takes one through a series of courtyards.  The building skillfully uses the section 
by placing courtyards at multilple levels, as seen in the exploded isometric drawing.   The building 
beautifully incorporates a ramp into the main entrance lobby.
Figure 45.  Strawberry Vale School Plan Diagram
Figure 46.  Strawberry Vale School Diagram 
- Circulation and Program Distribution
Figure 47.  Strawberry Vale School Exterior
Figure 48.  Strawberry Vale School - Interior
29
Sumner School, Albert Cluss, Washington, DC (1872)
The building was one of the ?rst public schools for the District?s African-American population.  
The building uses a platonic square form and incredibly well-crafted brick walls to create a grand 
physical statement and strong urban presence.
Tongxian Art Center and Gatehouse, Tongxian, China, Of?ce dA, (2003)
The buildings share common materials, building method, and formal attributes.  The buildings are 
being cited because of the way they incorporate brick into the design and construction.
Figure 49.  Museum of the Earth - Model
Figure 51.  Museum of the Earth -Geological 
In?uences (top) and Perspective Site Plan
Figure 50.  Museum of the Earth - Exploded Isometric 
drawing showing the multiple courtyards
30
Figure 52.  Of?ce dA - Brick Details - Tongxian Art 
Center and Gatehouse
Figure 55.  Tongxian Art Center Model and Section
Figure 53.  Tongxian Art Center - Computer Rendering
Figure 56.  Tongxian Art Center Model
Figure 54.  Tongxian Art Center - Gatehouse
Figure 57.  Tongxian Art Cneter 
- Gatehouse
31
Building Program
32
Building Program
The current Marie Reed Community Learning Center is based on the ?open classroom? model of 
the 1970s, which means that there are no walls between the classrooms.  The students have class 
in an open space on the second ?oor of the building.  Teachers simulate classrooms by placing 
wipe-boards, blackboards, and bookcases throughout the second-?oor to de?ne space.  There is 
no sound or visual barrier beyond these ad hoc constructions.  The open school, as an idea, is 
dead, yet the teachers of today must live with the vestiges of this failed theory.
The hypothesis of the open school and the resultant building serve as an example of how an idea 
Figure 58.  MRCLC Pool
33
can inform a building program which then in?uences the built form.  A current trend in education 
reform that is challenging the standard school building program is the small school.  ?The wealthy 
have known for years what we now know, smaller schools, smaller class sizes, and more individual 
focus results in a better education.?
The idea of the small elementary school is to place one class each of ?rst-graders, one class of 
second-graders, etc. up to the sixth grade, into one school.  It is economically unfeasible to build 
small schools for 120 pupils; therefore, school districts continue to build on a larger scale.  The 
difference is that in cities like Chicago, new large buildings are being broken down internally into 
several small schools.  New small school designs separate clusters of classrooms out from a main 
Figure 59. MRCLC Theater
34
School Building
Function Sq Ft each Total Sq Ft.
Lobby/Entry 1000
Media/Library 3000
Administration/of?ces 2500
Teacher Lounge 400
Dining 2500
Kitchen 1600
Mechanicals 900
Loading dock/shipping and receiving 900
Gym (Could be shared with Community Center) 7000
Multipurpose 3500
Art 900
Music 900
Teacher Workrooms (4) 300 1200
Teacher Restrooms (2) 500 1000
Computer Lab (Could be shared with Comm. Center) 1000
Classrooms
  PreK 1200
  K (4) 1200 4800
  1 (4) 1000 4000
  2 (4) 1000 4000
  3 (3) 1000 3000
  4 (3) 900 2700
  5 (3) 900 2700
  6 (3) 900 2700
Student Bathrooms (6-8) 330 2700
Principle?s Of?ce 1300
Total - School Building
57400
Plus 1.4 circ/etc.
80360
Community Center
Entry/lobby 800
Administration 1200
Restrooms (4) 200 800
Smaller Library (Or, library and computer labs could be 
shared) 500
Dining/multi-pupose 900
Kitchen 440
Table 1.  MRCLC Program
35
Club Room 700
Dark Room 500
Arts and Crafts 500
Video Room 500
Gym 7000
Locker Rooms 600 1200
Pool (w/ 15? deck) 7500
Total - Community Center
22540
Plus 1.4 Circ/etc.
31556
Health Center
Lobby 200
Reception/Registration 100
Payee Window 50
Physician Of?ce/Consult 120
Exam Rooms (3) 133 400
Nurse Work Area 50
Patient Toilets (2) 60 120
Medical Storage 50
Soiled Utility Room 60
Medical Records 60
Staff Toilets (2) 60 120
Breakroom 100
Housekeeping 50
Total - Health Center
1480
Plus 1.4 Circ/etc.
2072
Total Square Footage 81420
Circulation at 25% 101775
Circulation at 40% 113988
36
Figure 60. MRCLC 
T
opological Diagram
37
concourse that houses shared functions of the school, such as the library or music room.  In doing 
this, educators believe that a small school can be created.
The program for the new MRCLC takes the small school idea into consideration.  Classrooms for 
students in the ?rst-grade through the sixth-grade are to be clustered, with the kindergarten and 
pre-kindergarten children separated.  The program elements that are considered to be shared are 
the cafeteria, music and art rooms, computer lab, library, gymnasium, and exterior playing ?elds.  
The building currently serves as a community and health center as well, and the program has 
included space for this, by adding a pool, multipurpose room, and a smaller kitchen and dining 
area.  The health center portion of the program follows that of a small doctor?s of?ce ? waiting 
rooms, examination rooms, etc. The program re?ects the arty nature of the Adams Morgan 
neighborhood with the addition of various arts functions ? a community darkroom, traditional arts 
space, and new video and audio media rooms.
The current MRCLC contains a small theater.  The proposed program expands the theater so that 
it may be used by local community theater groups, such as the Kuumba Players, or the Rorshoch 
Players.  The expanded theater may be operated in conjunction with the District of Columbia Arts 
Center (DCAC), which currently operates a small, 50-seat black box theater up the block.
The building is only half of the equation for this program.  There is a requirement for three exterior 
basketball courts, two tennis courts, and a large playing ?eld that can be used for soccer, kickball, 
baseball, and football.  The slope once again will prove dif?cult, as a large scale level ?eld will need 
to be either cut into the site, or raised on a plinth.
The neighborhood currently uses the MRCLC site for traditionally un-programmed events like 
weekend ?ea markets and picnics.  There is a concrete structure on the site that provides basic 
38
shelter for foul weather; however, one wonders if that could be expanded to include an exterior 
shed that serves the need for picnics, and the weekend ?ea-market sellers.  
The goal of the expanded program is activate the building and site twelve to fourteen hours a day, 
seven days a week.  By adding theater, picnic, and ?ea-market program, one might be able to 
achieve this goal.  In combining new arts-based functions with the existing recreation functions of 
the pool and gym, it may be possible to mix new demographics, and create a community center for 
all of Adams Morgan.
39
Conceptual Design Strategies
40
Design Goals and Approach
There are multiple goals within this thesis; some are process oriented, others are building, site, or 
typologically focused.
Design Approach | Process
The overall goal of this thesis is to give the residents of the Adams-Morgan neighborhood a say 
in how redevelopment of the MRCLC proceeds.  There is no doubt that change will come; how 
Figure 61.  Typical Adams Morgan Street Scene
41
it arrives, however, might be directed by those who use the school, health clinic, and recreation 
center, and not only by those looking to make a pro?t.
The idea of community-based design introduces two components to architecture that are not 
included in the pedagogy at the University of Maryland: the client, and the idea of collaboration with 
persons without a design education.  It is a bottom-up approach, instead of the typical top-down, 
where users of the building and place get a say from the beginning of the project ? what will be 
included programmatically, and how the building(s) and site should work.
Design Approach | Type
A short history of the modern school building shows the transformation of the type from smaller, 
urban, neighborhood school, to large, automobile-based campuses placed out in the exurbs of 
current cities.  As building sites expanded, the schools spread, and more facilities were included in 
the program.  The expansion of the school buildings coincides with a larger student body, and this, 
according to education research, has been detrimental to student performance.  
In the past twenty years, education reformers have been pushing for smaller schools.  According 
to Susan Klonsky at the Small Schools Workshop at the University of Chicago, Illinois, small 
schools ?largely counteract the negative effects of poverty on student achievement, especially 
for low-income children and students of color.?  The small school eliminates student anonymity, 
encourages teacher interaction, and views parents as one of the most important links in the 
education chain.
One of the design goals of this thesis is to follow the small school model.  This model places 
ideal enrollment for elementary schools at 350 pupils.  This is larger than the current student 
42
population at the Marie Reed Community Learning Center; however, the common way of dealing 
with this issue is to create ?small schools? within schools.  Marble-Fairbanks Architects, the winners 
of the Chicago Public School Design Competition South Side site, used this idea and created 
three small schools off a central circulation core that provides each small school direct access to 
shared services, such as a cafeteria, music room, etc.  This scheme allows each small school a 
connection to the outdoors.  While this example may be too speci?c, the goal of the thesis remains 
to follow the small school model.
Figure 62.  Marble Fairbanks Chicago Public School Building Competition Winner
43
Design Approach | Building
The design of a school, community center, and 
grounds requires access for all members of 
the public; therefore, Universal Design will be 
incorporated into the design.  The ?nal design 
will follow the seven rules of UD (equitable use, 
?exibility in use, simple and intuitive, perceptible 
information, tolerance for error, low physical effort, 
and size and space for approach and use) to make 
the compound available and usable for all.
The building(s) on this site will be designed with 
an eye toward sustainability.  This word has 
recently come to mean everything environmental.  
The sustainable ideas that will be addressed in 
this thesis will come from nature ?rst.  The siting 
of the building (s), and passive solar design will 
be included.  Technological features, such as 
photovoltaic panels, or geothermal controls will be 
included when and if possible.
The accessibility of the outdoors will also be a 
focus.  The ability for schoolchildren or faculty to 
quickly get outside not only serves as a safety 
feature, it also easily accommodates unscripted 
activities or play.  The direct connection to outside 
Figure 63. Overhead Perspective of Site
Figure 65.  MRCLC south side playground
Figure 64.  MRCLC from the south
44
may also promote a better understanding of botany or erosion or other environmental learning that 
can be done hands on. 
Design Challenges | Site
The site and context will prove to be the largest design problem to solve.  The goal of the 
community organizations with interest in the MRCLC is to create enough value within the site so 
that a new MRCLC, along with housing and commercial properties, can be developed.  Thus, the 
dif?culty of the site is how to deal with the plentitude of functions that need accommodation.
Figure 66.  MRCLC Axonometric
45
There are property ownership issues as well.  The MRCLC has no fewer than four different land 
holders on its site.  The area in front of the school, along 18
th
 Street, is owned by the District of 
Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation.  The ground the school rests on, along with the 
playing ?eld to the south, is owned by the District of Columbia Public Schools.  The small, brick 
building directly adjacent to the MRCLC (to the north) is a pumping station owned and operated 
by the Army Corp of Engineers.  Finally, Champlain Street has been discontinued and demapped 
south of Kalorama Road, The District of Columbia Department of Transportation owns the street, 
however, it is unclear where the boundaries lie.
Figure 67.  MRCLC Axonometric with height exaggerated four fold
46
Figure 68.  MRCLC Axonometric - with site accentuated
The slope and surrounding context add to the dif?culty of the site.  The site drops eight percent, 
from west to east, at the north end, and more at the south.  There is a small pool and racquetball/
handball courts near the Army Corp of Engineers? pumping station, and because of the slope and 
their sunken state, they are signi?cant security threats.  The slope also makes the placement of 
playing ?elds, basketball and tennis courts dif?cult. 
The MRCLC sits directly across from a block of industrial buildings that are out of place in the 
neighborhood.  Verizon Incorporated has a telephone switching building at the intersection of 
Florida Avenue and Champlain Street.  Security Moving and Storage is directly next door, to the 
east.  Both of these buildings are very introverted and present enormous brick walls, of three and 
47
six stories, to the street.  Potomac Electric and Power Company (PEPCO) has a power sub-station 
on the site, that has been there since at least 1937.  This electricity sub-station comes complete 
with a ten-foot-high chain-link fence, and exposed power generator.  The ideal situation would 
involve moving these services underground, if possible, or relocating them; however, with current 
real estate prices being what they are, it appears that these buildings aren?t going anywhere soon.  
Therefore, this author would like to deal with this as a ?xed problem, and something that can?t be 
changed.
Figure 69.  PEPCO Sub-station
Figure 70.  The current site (left) will be divided in two, and Champlain Street reopened (center).  The eastern part of 
the original site will be sold to condominium developers (right).
48
Figure 71.  Initial Scheme 1 - Replacing Thos. P. Morgan School
INITIAL PARTIS
Some initial partis were created early in the semester, to see what could work on the site.  The ?rst 
idea was to build on the same spot as the initial Thomas P. Morgan School.  This scheme looked at 
creating a cylinder of shared program ? library, computer lab, etc. ? and building a school wing to 
the west, and a community center wing to the north.
49
Figure72.  Scheme 2 - Signi?cant Urban Design Changes with a U-shaped school, and separate Community Center on 
the south side
The second scheme looked at the extended the urban fabric.  The school is place to the north 
end of the site, and the community center is separate and across California Street to the south.  
There are signi?cant urban design changes, as the industrial block, southeast of the MRCLC, is 
demolished and turned into courtyard housing.
50
Figure 73.  Scheme 3 - The urban design changes of scheme 2 remain.  The school and community center become a 
west-facing, U-shaped con?guration
The third scheme kept the urban design changes from scheme two; however, it looked at creating a 
campus.  The three buildings of this scheme create a west-facing courtyard.  The hinge or hyphen 
building would serve as the community center, and the two wings would become a school.  The 
buildings would create a controlled playground that would be good for pre-k and kindergarten aged 
children.
51
Figure 74.  A wind rose is modeled, and then the form and data are used to create the parti, bottom right
Additional Site Investigations
Throughout the semester, the phenomena of the site has been analyzed; however, additional study 
of the site was completed, looking at non-traditional data, giving that data form, and then creating 
partis based on this new visual information.  The ?rst study involved modeling a wind rose in three 
dimensions, and looking at how the shape of the wind might inform the building.  The parti that 
arose from that study is a two-bar building form, with a tower in the middle to potentially collect the 
wind.
52
Figure 75.  The three step process to determine the 
form of the visual hot spots
Another study of the site looked at areas of high 
visual prominence on the site.  These areas were 
the terminus of streets or corners that would be 
exposed to multiple viewpoints.  Once these were 
determined, a form was created that responded to 
the planes.  As the visual prominence increases, 
an arm of the amorphous form reaches out to that 
point.  Areas with less visual heat are recessed.
53
Figure 76.  Site Plan - Bar Scheme
Partis and Initial Plans
There are three schemes being proposed for the MRCLC site.  The schemes are based on the 
analysis and data that has been collected over the course of the semester.  The building schemes 
are the bar scheme with one building running along California Street, on the south end of the site.  
The second scheme, the E scheme, also covers the south end of the site, but runs north along 18
th
 
Street.  Finally, the donut scheme differs in that the school and community center rests at the north 
end of the site.  The building looks out over the 5 acre site.
The bar building site has many advantages.  It is simple to break down into the small school school 
54
Figure 77.  Schematic Plans - Entry Level, Ground Level, Second Level
model, with each ?oor having its own small school.  The shared program ?ts in the vertical stack, 
and the community center shares those functions plus the basement pool and basketball courts.  
The vertical shared items also separate the administration health clinic, and other functions from 
the school.  
The building has good solar orientation, and with some sun control, the entire south fa?ade could 
be glazed.  This con?guration would be simple to construct, with a relatively straightforward 
structure.  The bar building also has the smallest site impact, which creates an opportunity for more 
55
Figure 78.  Schematic Plans - Third Floor, Fourth ?oor and Roof
greenspace.
The biggest drawback to the bar scheme is that the building has no nooks and crannies or 
courtyards to create a controlled exterior environment for pre-k and kindergarten students.  Another 
potential drawback is the potential banality of the design.  
The donut scheme differs signi?cantly from the bar scheme, as it is a somewhat introverted 
scheme.  The building has a controlled play space for children in the center of the donut.  The 
56
Figure 79.  Bar Scheme Axon and Section
building could work well with the slope of the site, as the pool and gymnasium could be tucked 
under the eastern section of the site.
The building is sited well for solar gain, as the two long sides are oriented south/southeast.  The 
building would have a narrow footprint, which would allow for cross-ventilation.  There would be 
minimal need for retaining walls, as the building sits on a relatively ?at section of the site.  The 
57
Figure 80.  Donut Scheme - Site Plan
donut scheme would also continue the street wall, a bit further south along 18
th
 Street.
The E scheme also has many positive attributes.  It is easily transformed into the small school 
model, as each wing could become its own school.  The building creates two to three controlled 
playgrounds on the site.  The location of the theater is good, as it could be a great feature at that 
corner.  The building works well with the urban environment as well.  The building continues the 
street wall from south 18
th
 Street.
The dif?culties of the E-scheme; however, relate to the form.  While the courtyards might be 
58
Figure 81.  Donut Scheme - Plans and Section
59
Figure 82.  E Scheme - Site Plan
controlled, they could become a haven for crime.  The longest fa?ade of the building faces west, 
and needs to have a lot of sun controls  The building ignores the east side of the site, and the 
intersection with Florida Avenue, Champlain Street, Seaton Street, and V Street is largest visual 
hotspot.
Each scheme has the potential to be developed into a well-designed, community-focused structure.  
The completion of this thesis should be challenging.
60
Figure 83.  E Scheme - Plans - First Floor, Ground Floor, and 
Second Floor
61
Figure 84.  E - Scheme - Axonometric
62
Figure 85.  E - Scheme - Section
63
Conclusion
Bringing about consensus in a community-based project is very dif?cult.  The community members 
only agreed on four different items: 1.) Create as much greenspace as possible; 2.) All the 
functions of the current MRCLC need to be included in the new MRCLC; 3.) The current MRCLC 
must be kept open and operational while work was being done on the new MRCLC, and; 4.) 
Champlain Street will be reopened.
Those items drove some of the design, and community input in terms of building program also 
in?uenced the ?nal product.  It is a project that will continue into the future, as criticism taken from 
the ?nal critique will be used to modify the architecture and create a better proposal for the Friends 
of Marie Reed, and other community groups.
64
Marie Reed CLC
Section C-C0     4     8       16
Marie Reed CLC
Section B-B0     4     8       16
Marie Reed CLC
Section E-E
0     4     8       16
Marie Reed CLC
Section D-D
0     4     8       16
MRCLC - South Elevation
0 2 4     8
MRCLC - East Elevation
0 2 4     8
MRCLC - West Elevation
0 2 4     8
Figure 86.  Final Drawings - Section Perspectives, Sections, and Elevations
65
Figure 87.  Final Drawings - Plans, Site Plan 
66
Appendix
67
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