MCN Build is building the future of our community. As a full-service construction company serving the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, we’re pleased to share news about our clients, our accomplishments, and our participation in industry and community events.
>New: Library Moving to Mount Pleasant Street:
The Mount Pleasant Branch Library will temporarily move into the space last occupied by Super Save Market. The DC Library system is in the process of renovating and rebuilding libraries all over the city. We're in line for a renovated and expanded library in 2011. In the meantime, the empty retail space at 3164 Mount Pleasant Street NW will serve as the temporary library while the 17 months renovation is being completed. That may very well put the opening of the "new" library sometime mid to late 2011 (although the scheduled time frame is in the spring).
The changes will be major, including an entire addition to the rear of the building,a reconfigured and unified entryway, and new, dedicated children's room. A few renderings of the changes are below. Keep up with the renovation plans on this page: Mount Pleasant Library Construction Update.
Super Save --formerly located at 3164 Mount Pleasant Street-- was my favorite little bodega on the strip. It closed abruptly more than two years ago. Since the closing, the building has sat vacant, but available for rental. Now that space will be activated once again.
The temporary library is being designed and constructed by MCN Build. MCN is a local firm who's linked to some pretty cutting edge design projects such as the Policy an Sweet Green restaurant build outs as well as the nearby Tubman School renovation. So, a least the temp library will look good, although there's no way it won't be a little cramped. I look forward to all the changes and know that it's all for a better (and bigger) permanent Mount Pleasant Branch Library in 2011.
http://the42bus.blogspot.com/2010/02/library-moving-to-mount-pleasant-street.html
>New: MCN Build honored to participate in Tubman ES ribbon cutting ceremony:
Located in the Columbia Heights district of Washington DC, the 1968 Harriet Tubman Elementary School is the largest elementary school in the DC Public School system. The Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization (OPEFM) requested the complete refurbishment of all twenty-six existing classrooms including the Pre-School, Head Start, Pre-K, K through 5,
and
Special Education. The modernization includes completely new flooring, wall paint, lighting, mechanical systems, electrical and data outlets, marker and tack boards, lockers, interactive white boards, sound reinforcement, millwork and complete furniture package.
With its design-build partner EE&K Architects, MCN Build reviewed the DCPS Design Guidelines and adopted its standards for new construction to a 25% smaller existing classroom size. The resulting room configuration and nature-based floor and wall colors were designed to create a calming and focused learning environment that also allowed for teacher flexibility.
From notice-to-proceed to substantial completion the project was designed and built in four months. As soon as school closed on June 15th, the design/build team began construction. In just 67 calendar days, MCN Build had completed the renovation of over 70,000 square feet.
Click here for Tubman Project Gallery >>
>New: MCN Build's Benning Charter School Renovation Receives National Recognition:
The Benning Charter School project, the new starter home of DC Prep and Nia Community Public Charter Schools, has been selected to be toured during the Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) 86th Annual World Conference & Expo in Washington, DC.
Click here to read about the project in "Educational Facility Planner"
"Click here to read about the project in American School & University"
>New: Click here to watch the Benning Construction documentary Video
The Virginia 2009 AIA INFORM Awards recognizes the Benning ES charter school
“The Virginia 2009 AIA INFORM Awards recognizes the Benning ES charter school renovation project with an Award of Merit for interior design. The evaluation was made according to four general questions: Is it an innovative solution to site or program? Does it demonstrate a high level of evident craftsmanship? Does it demonstrate a high level of conceptual rigor? Is it a unique intervention?”
The IIDA awards competition held at the Kennedy Center
“ The IIDA awards competition held at the Kennedy Center on April 22nd, 2009 honored the Benning ES Charter School Renovation project with two awards, a Gold Award for design and a second Special Recognition Award for having pulled the whole thing off in forty days and with such a tight budget.”
Sweetgreen wins the 2008 Virginia AIA INFORM merit award
“The design challenge for this salad, yogurt, and wrap place was its size. 500 square feet had to contain food storage, food preparation, and circulation space for the health-conscious, Georgetown-area patrons that pass through its doors. "It's so small and modest, so restrained, but also spatially complex," remarked Pollak, who emphasized the clean lines of Sweetgreen's surfaces and how they signal parts of the program. "The wrapping surface of the wood holds your view," she continued, meaning the customer area that is clad in wood and directs you to the menu on the back wall upon entry. "It's strategic and gives the space its scale." Scale and proportion, the jury agreed, was something that this entry demonstrated well.
The Washington chapter of the American institute of architects has awarded the Sweetgreen project a Presidential Citation for Sustainable Design
According to the Winter 2008 issue of Architecture DC magazine, the jurors were amazed that “so many sustainable strategies could fit in such a small place”. The one big design gesture in the space is a wide band of hickory planks, reclaimed from a Virginia barn, which run from floor to ceiling.
MCN Build is proud to have been selected as a sponsor of the H Street festival
MCN Build is proud to have been selected as a sponsor of the H Street festival which occurred on September 20th, 2008.
For four years, the H Street Main Street program has sponsored the H Street Festival. This event is one of the best tools to continually raise the profile of the H Street Corridor. Upwards of 6,500 District residents were attracted to the festival and got an opportunity to explore the street and enjoy the festival.
MCN Build is also taking an active role in the revitalization of this important corridor. MCN took on the storefront rehabilitation of 1204 H St. and completed the work in record time before the start of the festival.
This project was sponsored by the Coordinator - Great Streets Initiative - Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning & Economic Development. Through this initiative, over 87 new businesses have been attracted to the corridor.
MCN Build was honored to participate in the ribbon
cutting ceremony at Benning ES.
MCN Build completed the construction of this 70,000 SF design-build project
in a record time of 8 weeks.
The project was a partnership between Building Hope and the Office of the
State Superintendent of Education.
The DC Charter School Incubator Initiative (CSII) was created four years ago
when the U.S. Department of Education presented a $5 million grant to the
District of Columbia. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education
coupled this grant with a $4 million Congressional appropriation for the
creation of charter school spaces.
In 2006 OSSE partnered with Building Hope
to develop several incubator sites around the District of Columbia. The goal
of the Initiative is to assist early-stage public charter schools by
providing high quality and affordable educational facilities while they grow
their enrollments and focus on perfecting their academic programs.
In 2008, Building Hope began working with DCPS and the office of the Deputy
Mayor for Education to identify public school buildings that might be leased
to the Incubator Initiative. The first of these buildings, Benning ES, was
leased to CSII for a minimum of twenty years.
The first two tenants at this incubator location are DC Prep Academy and Nia
Community Public Charter School.
Noted speakers at the ceremony included Kathleen Padian, Vice President of
Building Hope, Douglas Mesecar, Assistant Deputy Secretary Office of
Innovation and Improvement US Department of Education, Victor Reinoso,
Deputy Mayor for Education, Joe Bruno, President of Building Hope, Monique
Murdock, Founder and Executive Director of Nia PCS, and Emily Lawson,
Founder and Executive Director of DC Prep.
MCN Build was awarded a 2008 Grand Prize by the Association for Retail Environments (A.R.E), for building Sweetgreen, a restaurant in Georgetown in Washington, DC. Sweetgreen is the flagship restaurant for the Green Restaurant Group and was designed by Core Architecture and Design. The project was led by Bassem Boustany, Director of Construction Operations. MCN Build received the award on March 18, 2008, at the A.R.E. Retail Design Awards, which presented 62 awards to 43 projects for the innovation and quality.
http://www.retailenvironments.org
http://www.sweetgreen.com
http://www.coredc.com
MCN Build Supports Solar Decathlon
When the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid (UPM) approached MCN Build to sponsor their participation in the 2007 Solar Decathlon, the partnership was a perfect fit. The Solar Decathlon, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and held on the National Mall, joins 20 college and university teams in a competition to design, build and operate the most attractive and energy-efficient solar-powered house. “Sponsoring UPM’s participation in the Solar Decathlon resonated with MCN’s mission to build the future of our community, and reflected our commitment to the importance of sustainable construction,” said Joseph Koury, Project Executive at MCN Build.
http://www.upm.es
http://www.solardecathlon.org
