Fall 2019 LARC 640 Project Designs

Project Background
CVS Health would like to differentiate themselves from other similar companies by updating their identity. Their new slogan is “Care for Everyone.” Part of their new mission is a commitment to environmental sustainability, in which “care for everyone” includes the planet. With funding from a private donor who lives in Takoma Park, MD, CVS Health has chosen their Takoma, DC store as the pilot project location. The property owner, Douglas Development Corporation, has agreed to allow changes to the site as long the overall site is left intact (in case CVS ever leaves) and all construction and maintenance is paid for by the private donor or CVS. Andy Shallal, the owner of Busboys and Poets, has received a grant from a nonprofit arts organization for the construction of a covered bus shelter that will offer a safe and comfortable place for public transportation users. Busboys and Poets, located directly across the street from the CVS property, is a restaurant, bookstore, and “cultural hub for artists, activists, writers, thinkers and dreamers.” The name refers to American poet Langston Hughes, who worked as a busboy at the Wardman Park Hotel in the 1920s before he gained recognition as a poet. The bus shelter will honor the life and work of Langston Hughes.

Assignment:
Re-design of the CVS property, including greenspace, parking lot and building shell (walls, roof, columns), that physically embodies the company’s new mission and slogan of “Care for Everyone” (including planet). The design must include the following:

1. Stormwater management through green roofs, rain gardens, living walls, etc.
2. Native or adaptive plants that 
   1. Are easy for a “mow-and-blow” maintenance company to maintain or that have an actionable maintenance plan for future care (if you use this option, you must state how this would work) 
   2. Provide phytoremediation (cleaning of air, soil, and/or water)
   3. Provide beauty for CVS clients and staff as well as Takoma businesses and residents
3. A small outdoor seating area for CVS employees and clients to enjoy a breath of fresh air
4. A covered shelter for the bus stop adjacent the CVS sign on Carroll St. that, as an homage to Langston Hughes, incorporates his poem “Dream Variations.”