Just Part of the Job

Page Senior Principals Thomas McCarthy and James M. Wright discuss with Bisnow Washington the local Washington D.C. projects Page has been working. Read more to see what the two have to say about Page's new D.C. plans.

There are occupational hazards (papercuts and sludge disguised as free coffee) and then there are the kind that make your life flash before your eyes, say, a monkey jumping on your motorcycle's handlebars somewhere along the Ho Chi Minh Trail.

Yesterday, PageSoutherlandPage architect Thomas McCarthy told us that he was on his sabbatical, driving the length of the trail with a friend (and the friend's monkey). We snapped Thomas and colleague James Wright in their 3101 Wilson Blvd. office, and they tell us their firm aims to bring international architectural touches home to DC. International cities feature more mixed-use and adaptive reuse among commercial buildings, creating 24/7 living environments. America's downtown-suburb model is in need of an update, Thomas says, and development along the R-B Corridor exemplifies what smart growth is supposed to be.

Local projects they're working on include the renovation and expansion of the FBI training facility's lobby at Quantico and Alexandria's Eisenhower Gateway. Though the Eisenhower doesn't have a groundbreaking date, James has noticed renewed interest in the project, and he's bullish on developers getting access to credit (pushing projects off the drawing board and out of the ground again).

PageSoutherlandPage is also big on sustainability—the Eisenhower will have wind turbines on the roof and rainwater harvesting, and they're designing a 125-bed dorm and dining hall for George Mason University's conservation program in Front Royal, VA. Construction starts this month and will finish within the year. James tells us green features are de rigeur for new development and other government agencies are following the GSA's lead in environmentally friendly features and sleek exteriors.
 

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