News

MV+A founding partner Allen Mushinsky retires

Yes, the rumors are true. Allen Mushinsky, MV+A’s founding partner, retired from the firm at the end of 2011. Everyone here has mixed emotions about this. We’re incredibly thrilled for Allen and wish him every last little bit of happiness, but we all know we will miss him badly.

Allen founded MV+A thirty-two years ago in 1979. There have been many changes since then, but this will be the biggest. Allen and MV+A have been preparing for this for over a year and with a few more tweaks, will hopefully be as prepared as possible for an MV+A without Allen. No one is planning to fill his shoes, he’s taking those with him, nor are there any name or acronym changes planned. We’ll still be MV+A, and we’ll still be espousing all of the great stuff Allen has brought to the business.

Jim, Lila and Jack are all moving into clearly defined leadership positions, and our four Associates are taking on new challenges as well. Jim Voelzke, AIA, LEED AP will continue as the Senior Principal and be the firm’s Managing Partner. Lila Firouzfar, AIA, LEED AP will be the Principal in Charge of Production and Jack Hollon, AIA will be the Principal in Charge of Design and Planning.

Allen will maintain a strong connection with MV+A as a Principal Emeritus. He will continue to work on selected projects and help with the firm’s administrative efforts on a limited basis. We all expect him to stay active in the architectural community. You can still reach him at his MV+A email address or phone number.

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Goodbye, suburban parking lots. Hello, garages.

[via New Urban Network] When a Whole Foods store opened in North Bethesda, Maryland, recently, shoppers were surprised to find something out of the ordinary: underground parking.

“Those accustomed to pulling into a vast parking lot and walking directly into the former Whole Foods six miles up Rockville Pike suddenly had to navigate a cavernous two-level garage before boarding elevators or escalators to reach the store entrance,” The Washington Post reported.

“For me, parking in a garage for grocery parking is really weird,” a 40-year-old woman told a reporter as she waited for an elevator. “It’s kind of not natural.”

Of course, what’s unnatural one day can become utterly routine as time goes on. And that’s what’s happening in greater Washington— a region that’s at the forefront of the shift toward more urban styles of living.

Click here for the article on New Urban Networks's site.

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Whole Foods in Prince George's County?

[WAMU 88.5, September 26, 2010] "Whole Foods wants to build its first supermarket in Prince George's County, Maryland. County residents and public officials say their communities are regularly overlooked by high-end retailers and businesses. So why is a proposed development -- on Route 1, near College Park -- meeting with local resistance? Kojo talks with community activists and officials, and explores the challenge of attracting and retaining businesses in Prince George's County."

Guests include Riverdale Park Mayor Vernon Archer, local residents, Assistant Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for Economic Development and Public Infrastructure, Office of the County Executive, Prince George's County, Maryland David Ianucci, and Roland Stephen of Greater Greater Washington.

Click here for the show page, a streaming audio link can be found at the upper left.

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Will Walmart finally build an urban store?

[via New Urban Network] Update: The proposal on New Jersey Avenue in the District of Columbia is really remarkable — see renderings on [linked] page — for a Walmart. Reports Greater Greater Washington blog: "This is by far the best of the proposals. Located on the fringes of downtown, it is appropriately dense and mixed-use. The building will be five floors, with small format retail lining the H Street sidewalk, Wal-Mart behind, parking underground, and 315 apartments on the upper floors."

Walmart is planning four to six stores in the District of Columbia.

These are not going to be typical suburban Walmarts on 20 acres with seas of parking. In the Brightwood neighborhood on upper Georgia Avenue, the retailer has to fit the big box on a very tight 4-acre site and will therefore eliminate surface parking and locate the store close to the sidewalk... click here for the complete article.

This project was also recently covered in Greater Greater Washington's series on the new Walmarts, click here for the article.

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MV+A wins Best in Show in Canstruction 2010

With so many great entries to choose from, it was a tough decision, but the jurors chose MV+A Architects’ “Turning Torso” as Juror’s Favorite in the Washington, DC Canstruction 2010, on October 2.

MV+A Architects, along with 14 other DC architectural offices, recently participated in the Washington Architectural Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Canstruction 2010. Teams were challenged to ‘can-struct’ a building or structure to represent this year’s theme, ‘International Architecture’. Entries were classified in the following categories: Best Meal; Best Use of Labels; Structural Ingenuity; Juror’s Favorite; Honorable Mention and People’s Choice Award. Team captain, Wayne Broadfield, selected Santiago Calatrava’s ‘Turning Torso’ residential skyscraper in Malmo, Sweden because its unique structural system might be judged favorably. Other team members included (listed alphabetically): Anthony Dihle, Carlo Andres, Dennis Swihart, Huyen Nguyen, John Le, John Long, Kristina Iverson, Kyle Mincey, Laurent deComarmond, Lila Firouzfar, Lynn Faulring and Maggie Lutsky.

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Art Place and Shops receive go-ahead

[via Washington Post] The D.C. Zoning Commission has granted final approval for the Art Place and Shops at Fort Totten in Northeast DC. The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation will construct a 2 million square foot transit oriented development on 16.67 acres of land between the Ft. Totten Metro station and South Dakota Avenue, just south of Riggs Road, Northeast.

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Whole Foods Market, Chevy Chase, Maryland

A new 48,600 square foot grocery store located at the new Wisconsin Place shops opened in the spring of 2010. The store is a unique urban design project for the Metro DC area that includes a large café area and express checkout area. The store design showcases unique exterior work with a large wood, steel and glass canopy and storefront system. This is the twentieth Whole Foods Market completed by MV+A.

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Whole Foods Market, P Street, Washington, DC

In order to keep up with the high demand of one of Whole Foods’ busiest stores, MV+A has renovated the store to include a new 2,700 square foot mezzanine to accommodate new café seating. The opposite end of the store was redesigned to feature updated wine, deli, bakery and specialty food departments.

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Whole Foods Market, Upper Arlington, Ohio

MV+ A recently helped secure rezoning approvals to demolish and rebuild a new 35,000 SF Whole Foods in Upper Arlington, Ohio. On September 20, 2010, the Upper Arlington Board of Zoning and Planning voted to approve the dynamic MV+A design.

Click here for the Columbus Business First article.

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Brandywine Crossing phase I opens, phase II planned

Brandywine Crossing Phase I was recently completed and won an Associated Builders and Contractors Excellence in Construction award. When completed, Brandywine Crossing will occupy 750,000 square feet of retail space in Prince George’s County. The project was recognized by The Daily Record as Southern Maryland’s top commercial project.

Read about the success of Brandywine Crossing in today’s adverse economy in this recent Washington Post article.

Phase II was approved in July by the Prince George’s County, Maryland Planning Board. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2011.

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North Gate at Falls Church gains approval

The Falls Church City Council has approved North Gate, a mixed use project designed by MV+A to feature apartments, townhouses, retail shops and offices. Located in the heart of Falls Church, North Gate has set out to be a good neighbor and an asset to the community. All the parking has been placed under ground and it will be topped by a green roof. Read more about the Council’s approval.

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