Evening star., 1962-05-20
Cities
oD1RepIe
A Bit
Of Logic
BY ROBERT ]. LEWIS

the events of last week as an
architect with a great deal of
honor. Besides his own in
tegrity, however, he had an
other bit of logic on his side.
The dignity, firmness and
diplomacy with which he de-
Tended his design for the
Watergate Towne apartment,
hotel and office project in
Foggy Bottom were of a high
order.
When he was asked Tues
day-while on his way in to
face a Fine Arts Commission
hostile to his design-wheth-
er he was in a mood for COM
promise, he said firmly:
IF one talks about archi-
tectural terms, one should
never really try to compro-
mise, for this satisfies no
body"
Then, automatically, he
added:
Rather, one should hope
to reach a result which will
satisfy the commission, and
others concerned, inasmuch
as they have the grave re-
sponsibility Of preserving the
beauties of the city of Wash
ington, which 1, as an archi-
tect, have great affection
for"
Though there were ele-
mentS of give-and-take in
the agreement reached Fri
day in New York in which
Fine Arts Commission oppo-
Sition was withdrawn, Prof.
Moretti did not permit his
concept to be compromised
nor its clarity dulled.
Instead, it was the Fine
Arts Com mission which
found its previous views on
the design largely untenable,
and which was obliged to re-
treat. Only face-saving minor
concessions on the part of the
developer kept the collapse
of the commissions position
from being abject.
&%
THE COMMISSION was
out on a limb, and has now
climbed back. That seems to
be the essential significance
of the withdrawal of its op-
position to the Italian firms
curvilinear $50 million Wa
tergate Towne project.
This having been said,
there should be no DISPOSE
ton to detract from the i'm
portance Of the commissions
role or to use this instance
as a generallzed example
suggesting 1t has abused its
powers.
Reflecting on the about
face it has been obliged to
take will force the commits
sion, it can be assumed, to
adopt a somewhat less broad
ly censorious function in the
future.
Just a month ago, mem
bers-to use their own words
=" unanimously expires sed
their disappointment" with
the Watergate design.
For the last 10 months the
commission has been-to use
its own words - expressing
its misgivings about the de-
sign"
Members specifically raised
doubt of the desirability of
the sweeping curvilinear
forms" of the buildings, and
referred to the total compo-
sition as an "overpowering
mass"
The commission said April
13 it "disagrees entirely with
the concept of providing
such a dramatic contrast
with the character of the
surrounding area" and said
the design bears little or no
relation to the rest of the
city"
IN EXPRESSING oppoSi-
ton to the design before the
District Zoning Commission,
a Fine Arts statement called
the project "a show piece"
whose primary effect is to
invite attention, not to COM
plement and fit into the sur
rounding area"
Even last Tuesday, the
commissions opposition, in a
closed session, appeared un-
abated.
Yet Friday, after minor
changes were agreed to that
will reduce the total mass
less than 6 per cent and
change the concept in no
sweeping particular, the COM
mission expressed agree
ment IN principle with the
development of the site as
designed" by Prof. Moretti.
What is the explanation
for this reversal?
Tho oncIupr ic on1arnntlV