Template4DPM

History: The Stanford in Washington Program offers qualified Stanford University undergraduate students an opportunity to study and learn in a rigorous program in the nation's capital. In addition to seminars and tutorials taught by Stanford faculty and national policy experts, the students are placed in substantive internships enabling them to work closely with individuals in Washington's wide range of governmental and non-governmental organizations. Students also have ample opportunities to interact with local alumni and to enjoy Washington's vast cultural resources.

The Bass Center, named after Robert M. and Anne T. Bass, is where SIW students live and attend classes. It is housed in a four-story brick building on Connecticut Avenue, located in the Northwest quadrant of the District of Columbia (DC). Situated across the street from the Woodley Park metro stop, just a few minutes south of the National Zoo, the Bass Center is ideally located for commuting to internships, government institutions, cultural events, and sightseeing.

The Center’s existing building, formerly a hotel, was purchased by Stanford University in 1987and converted for Stanford use. It houses students, faculty and the Program Director’s living quarters, educational spaces including the Susan J. Rosse Library, the Piggot and Weintz Seminar Rooms, the Bing Tutorial Room, and the Rockefeller Room where students gather with guest speakers. The facility also has administration offices, a dining room where meals are served, recreational spaces which include a student lounge with a big screen television, and a garden for reading and conversation.

Scope: The scope of this project is to make interior modifications to the existing SIW building and to provide additional program space via the addition of four levels and a basement of new construction totaling 11,244gross square feet on the adjacent site. The new building will be constructed after demolishing the existing one-story building but retaining its historic façade.

The extensive District of Columbia entitlement process has been completed and the project has received approvals from both the Historic Preservation Review Board (July 2004) and the Board of Zoning Adjustment (December 2004). As a result of this process, the project must restore the addition’s Connecticut Avenue façade to the original 1934 storefront design and must operate and maintain an art gallery/lobby that is open to the public for a minimum of 175 hours per month. In conjunction with Stanford’s quarter system four annual rotating exhibits will be displayed.

The SIW expansion will incorporate within the new addition the kitchen, a distance learning facility, an expanded library, seminar room, and eight additional student beds. All four floors of the original facility will be renovated. This renovation will convert the existing kitchen into a dining area; add public restrooms, two faculty offices and two bedrooms for visiting faculty; consolidate administrative offices; renovate the Director’s apartment; and make the front entrance accessible.

(Last Updated : 4/21/06 )