Here's a link for a new student center on the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) campus:
http://odd.greatergreaterwashington....dcbuilding.pdf
The architecture of this building has received some really mixed responses but anything to improve this sterile area of DC is welcomed. This is directly next to the Van Ness metro station but the Van Ness section of DC lacks any kind of pedestrian or street life most of the time, despite being on the Red line and in an affluent area. The UDC campus, in particular, is made up of a collection of large, cold, brutalist buildings that are setback significantly from the street and the that don't engage the surrounding neighborhood.
The plaza where the new student center depicted in these renderings would be built is a largely vacant, brick plaza, with little shade or anything else to attract people walking by.
Across the street and a little north from the UDC campus, a developer plans to build a dozen condos where the current Shanghai Garden restaurant is. This is further help to enliven the neighborhood.