media coverage
NYC VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL & PLAZA RENOVATION
For those of you who do not know, I serve on the Board of Directors of The Friends of Vietnam Veterans Plaza. About a year ago, because of my design/build experience, I was asked to chair a committee to look into certain restoration, renovation and design issues facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial (VVM), the Walk of Honor (WOH) and the entire Plaza at 55 Water Street.
The 25-year old Memorial is showing its age – the stone, grout and other materials need to be cleaned and repaired. While general issues of lighting, identity and accessibility to all areas of the Plaza also need to be resolved. To address these needs we assembled a team of consultants including William Fellow of PKSB Architects, Joan Berkowitz of Superstructures, Wesley Depp of Depp Glass and Suzan Tilliston of Tilliston Lighting Associates. William Fellows was the original architect/designer of the Memorial and is thoroughly familiar with its construction and history over the years. Joan Berkowitz is the Conservator for the Memorial. Our goal was to study the current conditions, identify the problems, make recommendations for the needed remedial work and submit our design recommendations for lighting, signage and accessibility.
After many months of hard work which included mock ups of various lighting, signage and protective coatings, the final report is now complete. On November 15, 2011, we will be making our presentation to the Municipal Arts Society [MAS] to obtain initial approval for the nearly one million dollars of funding required for the project. These funds have already been allocated for this project. It’s just a matter of getting MAS’s final approve on our design. After that, we be presenting to the Art Commission and the Parks Department for approval to proceed with the work.
Our report includes recommendations and cost estimates for the following:
- Repair, Cleaning & Coating of the glass block surfaces of the Memorial
- A “state of the art” LED lighting system to uniformly backlight the glass block [The cleaning, coating and lighting will greatly enhance the legibility of the inscriptions on the block].
- Removal the horizontal map of Vietnam and incorporating images of a map into new signage at the Water Street entrance to the WOH.
- Change the method of lighting the individual plaques in the WOH from up lighting to down lighting. The new lights will shine down on the pavers and serve to define a clear, lit path to the Memorial.
- The new signage will consist of [2] low profile glass panel signs bracketing the entrance to the WOH on Water St. The translucent glass panels will be capable of projecting ever changing images and/or light shows. They could also run continuous loop type videos that would depict the theme of the day i.e. Memorial Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day etc.
- We are also recommending modernizing the lighting throughout the entire plaza so that it’s consistent in color and intensity and lights the ground surfaces better the present without offensive glare
When all work is complete we have beautiful animated signage bracketing and defining the Water St. entrance to the WOH. The pavers of the WOH will be lit up to highlight a clear path to the Memorial and the Memorial will be completely refurbished and lit with a continuous blanket of LED lighting.
Friends of Vietnam Veterans Plaza – Board Members
Harry Bridgwood, Chairman
James M. Barnes
John J. Campbell
Richard S. Colt
Dennis J. Conroy
Bob Del Grosso
Robert C. DiChiara
Vincent McGowan
Michael Miglino
William F. Milcarek
Bill Nelson
Michael O’Connor
Robert D. Santos
Gabriel Stefania
Ronald L. Winchester
Richard Wood
Website: http://www.vietnamveteransplaza.com/
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essential design + build in american builders quarterly
CLICK HERE to see full article
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essential d+b project makes cover of Metropolitan Home
We are excited that one of our recent projects is featured on the cover of the May 2009 issue of Metropolitan Home magazine. If you missed it, the full article, and slide show can be accessed via the link below:
http://www.pointclickhome.com/decoration_inspiration/articles/updating_georgian_revival_home
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