Washington Convention Center plans facade improvements

In an interview with the Washington Business Journal, Events DC Board Chair Max Brown described the Walter E. Washington Convention Center as “Soviet-style, gulag-ish.” Now, there are plans to liven up the facade with designs from Olin Studio and OMA, the same design team behind the 11th Street Bridge Park.

Plans call for replacing the entrance and exit at the Mount Vernon Square Metro station at Seventh and M streets NW for glass-and-steel and public art. Public art, landscaping, and neon LED strip lighting will also be placed around the building. Washington Business Journal further reported that there are plans for a 4,000-square-foot rooftop terrace that will be used for events. Additionally, along Ninth Street NW, there are plans for six retail kiosks.

Later this year, Urban Athletic Club will open inside the building along with an Unconventional Diner. Across the street, an Apple store will eventually open in Carnegie Library.

Construction on the Washington Convention Center is expected to begin by the spring of 2018 with a delivery by 2021.

• Think the Washington Convention Center is plain? Here's Events D.C.'s plan to liven it up [Washington Business Journal]