Design Committee

Mission:  The Design Committee works to enhance the physical appearance of Barracks Row by rehabilitating historic buildings, encouraging supportive new construction, developing sensitive design management systems, and long-term planning.

Amanda Didden, Chair


The Design Committee has developed Sign Guidelines and Façade Design Guidelines to educate building and business owners about preservation and good design in the Capitol Hill Historic District, as well as Flowerbox and Planter Guidelines to encourage more flowers and plants on 8th Street, SE.  BRMS also offers a matching facade grant program to foster physical improvements along Barracks Row.  For a copy of the guidelines or a grant application, click on the links below or drop by the BRMS office.  Good design makes economic sense!

Resources:

Img0996Signs
Barracks Row Sign Guidelines in PDF

Facades
Barracks Row Façade Design Guidelines in PDF
National Park Service Preservation Briefs
ReStore DC Matching Façade-Grant Application in MSWord

Landscaping
Flowerbox and Planter Guidelines in PDF

Streetscape
8th Street SE Streetscape Construction Plans in PDF


Activities & Achievements

  • Created Sign Guidelines to foster better signs for businesses along 8th Street, SE. 
  • Developed Façade Design Guidelines to encourage better maintenance and preservation of historic buildings.
  • Wrote Flowerbox and Planter Guidelines to encourage more flowers and better landscaping along the commercial corridor.
  • Created a partnership with DC Department of Transportation to facilitate a better streetscape design that began September 2002 and was completed in December of 2003.
  • Funded five pools of money to make sign, glass, and façade grants available through DEMPED, the Arcana Foundation, ReStore DC, DC Escheated Estates, and DHCD.
  • Completed historic context research and intensive architectural survey of blocks adjacent to 8th Street south of the SE Freeway.
  • Supported the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s extension of the Capitol Hill Historic District south from Eye Street SE to the Washington Navy Yard.
  • Assisted the Capitol Hill Restoration Society with an inventory of alleys on Capitol Hill.