Please see in this site's Forum the photo "Silver Spring Veterans Plaza Option 1"

[jamie r. karn]

Last week I posted (it's under richard jaeggi's name) an opinion piece called "A Plaza for Everyone, Everyday" that described my understanding of the pros and cons of the roofed pavilion and ice rink that dominate the current design for Silver Spring Veterans Plaza. It also listed my suggestions that the ice rink be moved to the open space in front of the proposed future library site, and that the roofed pavilion be made much smaller to open up more of the plaza and to reduce winter shadows on the plaza. I have drawn an option for the plaza with those changes and have attached it to this email. It includes a 2200 square foot pavilion, rather than the 7000 square foot pavilion that is included in the current plan. This smaller pavilion is more than adequate to shelter a very large band and all equipment during a rainstorm, and to provide a shaded sitting area during the summer. Notice that I have indicated that the surface of the open space could be a mix of paving areas and areas of artificial turf. This is obviously not "set in stone", but is intended as a basis for discussion. There are some indications that the artificial turf may look dirty within a year or two, will be toxic, etc., but there are quite a few products out there and I think it is less of a risk to experiment over time with different natural and artificial turf surfaces than it is to experiment with the possible negative impact of a large roof and rink on a small plaza. If the artificial turf were to fail, paving or planting could be placed in the areas that are indicated as artificial turf. Thank you.