This article was written 小萝莉影视鈥檚 news partner and republished with permission.
Amazon鈥檚 designs for a聽 need to do more to become true landmarks for the Pentagon City skyline, said members of an Arlington County planning committee.
At the first Site Plan Review Committee for HQ2 Monday night, Amazon and ZGF Architects the new 2.1 million square foot project in Pentagon City. The meeting, held in Shirlington, primarily focused on the design and architecture of the buildings, with聽 about Amazon鈥檚 arrival saved for future meetings.
Amazon鈥檚 proposal involves the construction of two new office buildings at the corner of 15th Street S. and S. Eads Street 鈥� almost the perfect midway point between the Pentagon City and Crystal City Metro stations. The project is part of the for Amazon鈥檚 permanent offices opening in Arlington.
Metropolitan Park Phases 6 and 7/8, as the project is dubbed in reports, consists of a pair of buildings with outward-facing retail and restaurants, and the Amazon headquarters portion of the building facing inwards towards a central park.
Brian Earle, the project architect with ZGF Architects, said the focus of the design was integrating the building into the neighborhood.
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Design evolution, color revolution
There are no rooftop signs planned for the project, and the exterior design is terracotta masonry and glass 鈥� an inoffensive design that will feel familiar to anyone who has seen the new in Ballston or The Wharf in D.C., Amazon鈥檚 architects said.
The project drew the most praise where it stood out, and most of the criticism was focused on where the project seemed unambitious. Earle played up the modernist and art deco influences of other buildings on the block, such as The Gramercy and The Bartlett, but to the untrained eye, they seem to have the same tan and dark glass facade.
鈥淭hese are the tallest buildings in the area,鈥� Planning Commissioner James Lantelme said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 handsome, but I鈥檓 wondering if more can be done with the crown. Some buildings don鈥檛 have a formal crown but a distinctive top. This is just a continuation of the block going up. Is there anything that can be done to make it a centerpiece of this area?鈥�
Committee members were mainly impressed with the polychrome glass planned for the building, with colors ranging from fuchsia to teal across the buildings.
鈥淚鈥檓 always excited for colors,鈥� said Planning Commissioner Nancy Iacomini. 鈥淚t鈥檚 always been beige or grey. Rosslyn is a sea of grey and it鈥檚 just as bad as Ballston beige. I鈥檓 happy to see the terracotta as grey but a lot of polychrome.鈥�
鈥淧eople are getting tired of seeing the same beige building,鈥� Lantelme agreed. 鈥淚鈥檓 hoping this is the start of a different design trend away from the beige. We may have an emergence of a colorful district.鈥�
Retail tensions
Plans for ground floor retail in the Amazon buildings was also a focus of some excitement 鈥� and concern. Brick and mortar retail is , ironically in no small part due to the building鈥檚 primary tenant, and committee members expressed concern that the project could have too much ground-floor retail that it wouldn鈥檛 be able to fill.
Earle said the idea is to have a 50-50 split between restaurants and community-serving retail, such as barbershops and pet stores, on the ground floor.
鈥淥ne of Amazon鈥檚 strategies is they design the in-house food service [to serve] only 25% of the lunchtime traffic to encourage employees to go to other restaurants,鈥� said Earle.
Commissioners also couldn鈥檛 resist little jabs at the Amazon-versus-retail tension, particularly the the company鈥檚 physical bookstores have gotten so far.
鈥淎 would be great there,鈥� said Planning Commissioner Jane Siegel, 鈥渨ith their book store.鈥�
The next meeting for the project is planned for Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Parks Operations Building, 2700 S. Taylor St.
