Petition Opposes Georgetown's New Dorm Design

Not only has the Old Georgetown Board (OGB) asked Georgetown to provide more information for alternative campus locations for a new dorm, but also a group of alumni are calling on their alma mater to reconsider the architects and initial design. 

Sasaki Associates from Boston have been going through an interactive master planning effort with Georgetown leaders and students to help the university meet the standards agreed to in its most recent campus plan. 

The petitions calls for GU to enlist other architects with experience designing classical-style buildings, rather than the rather modern initial drawings presented to the OGB and Advisory Neighborhood Commission in July. 

According to the petition: 

"Students and alumni were unanimous in their opposition to the uninspired, Eastern Bloc-like proposal, completely incongruous with Georgetown's rich architectural heritage, in addition to taking up one of the last remaining green spaces on campus."

As Patch previously reported, the building would be sited on a triangular plot of green space about 50 feet across from Reiss Science Building and in close proximity to the Leavey Center. The seven-floor, 80,000-square-foot structure would hold 250 beds and include a student lounge and classroom area on the ground level. 

Though the Georgetown Advisory Neighborhood Commission gave a vote of support for the proposed site, student commissioners urged the design team to come up with a scheme for the structure that will stand the test of time and reflect both Georgetown as an institution and community. 

The architects told the Georgetown ANC that the design was simply the first iteration and would be tweaked when they get to that phase. For now they were looking for approval for the location and density.

The OGB did not comment on the design during its July meeting, but did send the team off with a request for additional information on alternative locations, according to the Georgetown Current. 

The petition goes a step farther, calling on the university to solicit drawings from other architectural firms.  

"Simply making some tweaks to the initial drawing are not enough," the petition states.

As of Sunday evening there were 676 signatures on the online petition.