DuPont Underground Uncovered For All
Nick Cooper, AIA, Will Hinkley, and Jeannine Muller, Assoc. AIA
By using the conceptual framework of weaving, we will provide the DuPont neighborhood with a cultural destination that can educate, organize, and inspire both residents and visitors of all backgrounds ethnicity and beliefs.
The project aims to revitalize the abandoned trolley station beneath Dupont Circle for presenting, producing, and promoting cutting-edge arts, architecture, design, and creative endeavors in order to provide a cultural destination for the community. This cultural destination that, through arts, design, installations, events, and performances, will advance architectural discourse in D.C. and contribute to the city’s conversation about its context, future, and culture. The complexities associated with architectural development in cities often has a direct correlation with a lack of open space for new development. Thus, often times you will see an initiative to rehabilitate or repurpose already existing sites and buildings. It is this dichotomy between the old and new structures that give a city its unique architectural character. The focus will be on adaptively reusing an already existing site in order to maintain the history of the site while adding to Washington D.C.’s growing identity as a vibrant city. Programmatic elements of a museum, educational initiative, and art exhibition space will weave together the various identities that embody DuPont’s unique cultural heritage.
