EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA 1601 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Proposed Chancery Building Evaluation of Compatibility August 2017 Prepared for Embassy of Australia Board of ZoningBoard Adjustment of Zoning Adjustment District of ColumbiaDistrict of Columbia CASE NO.19557 Case No. 19557 EXHIBIT NO.41D 41D Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Purpose and Methodology 3 Existing Embassy of Australia 4 Sixteenth Street Historic District Overview 7 Foreign Missions Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA) Criteria 9 Analysis of Proposed Design 11 Proposed Design Meets D.C. and Federal Standards 22 Conclusion 22 References Cited 23 Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 3 PURPOSE AND METHODOLOGY The evaluation presented in this report was undertaken to provide a formal assessment of the compatibility of the proposed design for the new Embassy of Australia with the character of the Sixteenth Street Historic District and the Massachusetts Avenue “Embassy Row” corridor. Specifically, the evaluation focuses on whether the proposed design meets the test of compatibility with its historic environs. EHT Traceries based its evaluation of the plans on the design principles included in the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Design Guidelines, prepared by the D.C. Historic Preservation Office (HPO) and adopted by the Historic Preservation Review Board. The HPO publication “New Construction in Historic Districts” identifies twelve (12) design principles to be considered when evaluating the compatibility of new buildings planned within existing historic districts. These design principles are: setback, height, orientation, materials, scale, color, proportion, roof shape, rhythm, details and ornamentation, massing, and landscape features. Also considered is the compatibility of the design with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards. Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 4 EXISTING EMBASSY OF AUSTRALIA Location The existing Embassy of Australia at 1601 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W. is located in Square 181, Lot 162 (Figure 1). The 0.7-acre lot is bound by Massachusetts Avenue and Scott Circle on the south and Sixteenth Street on the east. A public alley separates the building from the Embassy of Philippines on the west. Figure 1. Map showing the location of the Chancery of Australia (D.C. Atlas) General Description Completed in 1969, the Embassy is a seven- story Tennessee marble-clad, concrete, glass, and steel office building (Figure 2). The building is rectangular in plan. An extension, which matched the original, was added to the northern half of the site in 1977. The building features a flat roof with a mechanical penthouse setback from the building line, which has no parapet, and an underground parking facility. Both the main pedestrian entrance and the entrance to the parking level are located in the south (Massachusetts Avenue) elevation. In addition, a small landscaped plaza featuring concrete planters is located between the building and the Massachusetts Avenue sidewalk. Architecturally, the Embassy Figure 2. Aerial image of the current chancery (Google) is characteristic of the latter phase of the International Style. Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 5 Site History The initial development of the site dates to the late nineteenth century. In 1881, U. S. Treasury Secretary William Windom constructed a three-story brick dwelling on the property, the legal description of which was Lot 141 within John P. Olmstead’s Subdivision of Lots within Square 181 (Figure 3).1 Windom’s residence is depicted on Hopkins’ 1887 map (Figure 4). This residence is later depicted on the 1959 Sanborn map, at which time it was owned by the “Catholic Daughters of America” (Figure 5). Figure 3. View north from Scott Circle, with the Windom residence to the left of the Scott Statue, 1888 (Historical Society of Washington, D.C.) Figures 4-5. Detail from 1887 Hopkins map (left), and 1960 Sanborn map (right) (Library of Congress) 1 D.C. Building Permit 1362, June 6, 1881. Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 6 The Australian government purchased the property in 1963 from the Court District of Columbia Club, Inc.2 The Embassy was constructed between 1967 and 1969.3 It was designed by the Melbourne architectural firm of Bates, Smart & McCutcheon, and was built by the George Hyman Construction Company (Figure 6).4 Figure 6. View northwest from Scott Circle, showing new chancery, 1969 (Historical Society of Washington, D.C.) 2 D.C. Recorder of Deeds, Liber 12052, Folio 401, recorded August 16, 1963. 3 “Lord Casey to Visit,” Evening Star, May 4, 1969. 4 “New Offices for The Land From Down Under,” Evening Star, June 20, 1969. Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 7 SIXTEENTH STREET HISTORIC DISTRICT OVERVIEW Boundaries: Generally including structures fronting on Sixteenth Street, NW from Lafayette Square to Florida Avenue (Figure 7). Character: Grand avenue of buildings along one of the most important streets in the Federal City; buildings varied in type and style, but related in conception, scale, materials, and quality of design; includes row houses, large detached houses, churches, small apartment buildings, monumental apartments, office buildings, and institutional buildings; styles include Italianate, Queen Anne, Richardsonian Romanesque, Beaux Arts, Colonial Revival, and Art Moderne; many of Washington’s most prominent architects are represented. Resource Count: Contains approximately 147 contributing buildings dating from 1815-1959. Individual D.C. Landmarks: • St. John’s Church (1816, Benjamin Henry Latrobe) • Ashburton House, St. John’s Parish House (1836) • Carlton Hotel (1930, Mihran Mesrobian) • Russian Embassy (1910, Wyeth & Sullivan) • Lt. General Winfield Scott Statue, Scott Circle (1874, Henry Kirke Brown) • Daniel Webster Memorial (1900, Gaetano Trentanove) • Samuel Hahnemann Memorial (1900, Charles Henry Niehaus) • Carnegie Institution of Washington, Administration Building (1910, Carrère & Hastings) • Robert Simpson Woodward House (1895, William L. Conley) • Scottish Rite Temple (1911, John Russell Pope) • Congressional Club (1914, George Oakley Totten) Period of Significance: 1815-1959. Landmark Designation: DC listing November 8, 1964 (preliminary identification), designated March 9, 1977; National Register of Historic Places listing August 25, 1978; DC designation expanded January 18, 2007 to extend south of Scott Circle (effective March 11, 2007); NR listing expanded July 11, 2007.5 The Embassy of Australia lies outside of the period of significance and is a non-contributing resource within the Sixteenth Street Historic District. In addition, the chancery is located at the southern end of “Embassy Row,” a portion of Massachusetts Avenue running from Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. to Scott Circle, as described in the Foreign Missions and International Organizations Element of theComprehensive Plan for the National Capital. It is one of a number of embassy chanceries along Massachusetts Avenue between Scott Circle and Observatory Circle. 5 D.C. Office of Planning, Historic Preservation Office, District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites (Washington: HPO, 2009), 146. Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 8 Figure 7. Sixteenth Street Historic District with Australian Chancery and Individual D.C. Landmarks within the district annotated (D.C. Office of Planning) Embassy of Australia EHT Traceries August, 2017 Page | 9 FOREIGN MISSIONS BOARD OF ZONING ADJUSTMENT (FMBZA) CRITERIA 22 U.S. Code SEC. 4306 - Location of Foreign Missions in the District of Columbia The location, placement, or expansion of embassies and chanceries in the District of Columbia is subject to the regulations contained in the Foreign Missions Act of 1982 (U.S. Code, Title 22, Chapter 53, Section 4306). Pursuant to the Act, such changes in the disposition of real property are subject to review by the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). Foreign Mission cases are heard before the Foreign Mission Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA), which is composed of the members of the BZA with the Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC).6 Furthermore, Section d (Criteria for Determination) of the Foreign Missions Act of 1982, Item 2 (Historic Preservation) states that: Historic preservation, as determined by the Board of Zoning Adjustment in carrying out this section; and in order to ensure compatibility with historic landmarks and districts, substantial compliance with District of Columbia and Federal regulations governing historic preservation shall be required with respect to new construction and to demolition of or alteration to historic landmarks.7 Compatibility with D.C. and Federal Regulations Permit applications for new construction in the District of Columbia, including foreign embassies and chanceries, must be reviewed in accordance with both D.C. and federal historic preservation regulations and guidelines. The Historic Landmark and Historic District Protection Act of 1978 (D.C. Law 2-144, as amended), Section 8 (New Construction) requires that the Mayor review all permits for proposed new construction in D.C. historic districts. Prior to making a finding on the permit application, the Mayor may refer the application to the Historic Preservation Review Board for recommendation, but must make the finding within 120 days of such referral. Following this review, the permit will be issued unless the Mayor finds that