On November 19, the National Building Museum opened an exhibit entitled "Unbuilt Washington." The show explores proposals, both past and present, that would have dramatically altered the architectural character of Washington DC. The show includes historic drawings by Benjamin Henry Latrobe and Thomas Jefferson, as well as models from Frank Gehry and Morphosis. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture's proposal for reinvigorating the southwest quadrant of Washington DC is included in the show.
Gallaudet University is the nation's foremost university for the deaf and hard of hearing. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture is renovating the dormitories at the University, and as part of that work, has created Braille floor plans illustrating the renovations. The tactile models allow the design team to fully include vision impaired students in design charrette discussions. The models will be on display at the University Student Union after the work is completed.]]>
Gallaudet University, one of the world's foremost universities providing education to the deaf and hard of hearing community, has selected Studio Twenty Seven Architecture for their latest residence hall project. The work will include renovations of the common spaces of five of the University's Residence Halls. Construction will be completed over the summer of 2012 in anticipation of the Fall semester. The design will prominently feature the principals of Deaf Space as defined by the University and will work to connect the residence halls with the historic Fredrick Olmstead-designed campus.
The Virginia Society Chapter of the American Institute of Architects announced that two Studio Twenty Seven Architecture projects were among the winners in their annual design awards competition. The Rincon Bates Residence won an award for Design Excellence, while Mosaica Academy won a citation for Design Excellence in the un-built category. This is the second American Institute of Architects award for the Rincon Bates Rsidence in 2011. It also won an interior design award from Inform magazine, a publication of the Virginia Society Chapter.
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Studio Twenty Seven Architecture, along with joint venture partner Leo A Daly, are continuing to develop their design for the District-owned "La Casa" supportive housing project. The project is an important milestone for the District in their efforts to redefine the concept of housing for the homeless community. Rather than function as a shelter, the "La Casa" project will provide permanent, supportive rather than temporary housing for forty men. Each living unit is designed as a single-person efficiency that will provide stability and predictability for the tenants as they immerse themselves in day to day living.
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Suliman Residence was featured in the May issue of the magazine Residential Architect as a 2011 Unbuilt Design Award winner. The jurors praised the design of the house, located in Juba Sudan, as spirited and comprehensive in its understanding of local culture and mores. The Rincon Bates residence also received its third award overall and second AIA Design Award. The project was the 2010 Project of the Year for Remodeling Magazine.]]>
Studio Twenty Seven Architecture is publishing a book illustrating their master planning study of Southwest Washington, DC. The vibrantly illustrated book provides a comprehensive history of urban development in this quadrant of the city beginning with the introduction of L'Enfant's plan in 1791 to the opening of the Nationals Stadium in 2008.
]]>Studying Sanborn maps dating back to the 1890's, the book explores the history of land use and illustrates modern development patterns in the quadrant. The maps illuminate how over the last hundred years Southwest has become a quadrant removed and isolated from the rest of the city's urban fabric in both a physical and perceived sense. This is not anecdotal observation but a chronic condition identified by residents, politicians, and urban planners. Southwest compromises about 25% of the city's 61.4 square miles, but holds only 2.1% of the city's population. Throughout the twentieth century the area has atrophied and now maintains only 20% of the cultural and commercial assets that it held in 1920.
Through the metaphor of Haute Couture (French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking") the final chapter of the book introduces specific interventions to the area to reconnect it with L'Enfant's original plan that governs the rest of the City. These new interventions include the introduction of a Ferry Terminal along the mouth of the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers and the return of Fort McNair to the public domain.
]]>The owners of this project approached Studio Twenty Seven Architecture with requests for a re-configuration of the existing circulation pattern and thoughtful consideration for the ecological impact of the project. The Architects' strategy displaced the dark, musty interior with a sense of openness, both in plan and section, to create a more implicit series of relationships between traditionally separated hierarchical programs.
Studio Twenty Seven Architecture removed a section of the second level floor joists to carve a void through the middle of the house over the dining room, enabling shared light between all spaces, and introduced operable skylights to create a stack effect that controls ventilation. The second floor is divided into two bedroom suites, connected by a tubular steel and glass bridge. Energy and water consumption are minimized through the use of tank less gas-powered water heaters, new low-E glass windows and doors, bio-based insulation, low-flow plumbing fixtures and dual-flush wall-hung toilets. All interior finishes are domestically resourced recycled and formaldehyde-free to improve indoor air quality.
]]>Architectural and Engineering Design Requirements
The Fredrick Douglass Middle School was constructed in 1950 as a segregated public school. The building is being leased by a charter school client and will remain the property of the District of Columbia, and required a full design review by the Commission of Fine Arts. The building is a community landmark and needs to retain its history as a public school, but also needed to be refurbished to meet the needs of a modern facility. One question for discussion with the Commission of Fine Arts was whether or not the existing masonry work should be painted. Several portions of the building's masonry exterior had deteriorated and were literally shedding bricks to be precast each spring. It was an unsafe condition and major masonry renovation repairs were required. Studio Twenty Seven Architecture retained a historic masonry consultant and went about carefully detailing and specifying the required masonry repairs. The Commission of Fine Arts was opposed to painting the exterior masonry as that would alter the historical character of the structure. The detail mock-ups and submittal management of this portion of the project was an important architectural-engineering accomplishment of this project.
Meeting the Client's Needs
When first called upon to visit the site with the head of school, the design program included an addition to the school. The client felt this was required to meet number of program spaces required for the student population. With some overnight research and a quickly scheduled structural engineer site visit, Studio Twenty Seven Architecture was able to inform the client that the internal masonry walls of the building were not load-bearing and could be removed to allow for greater space planning flexibility. This flexibility proved so great that the entire program of the client could be accomplished within the existing building shell, negating the need for the anticipated addition. This saved the client $8 million dollars off their budget, and they were able to allocate the surplus to other requirements including additional program needs.
Architectural Need
One of the client's most pressing needs was that the building operate as a campus rather than a singular building. The school would house children of ages from preschool to high school, and the building needed to function like a series of campus buildings to organize arrivals and departures while maintaining the identities of the different schools. A separate pre-school entrance and vehicular drop-off is provided at the west end of the building with a new open glass main lobby entrance for visitors and guests at the center of the elevation. The elementary and middle school entrances are defined by adding a vertical opening of glass at the stair entries.
Schedule Need
The schedule need of this building was fast track. The client wanted to occupy the building for several months prior to restoration activities and achieve a partial first-occupancy milestone eight months later, followed by a second occupancy deadline after four months. Since the existing building did not have an occupancy permit on file with the City, Studio Twenty Seven Architecture worked with the regulatory agencies to make the needed repairs and schedule required inspections to get an occupancy permit in several weeks. The drawings were created quickly and permitted expeditiously to allow construction to begin within four months of the first line being drawn. Diligent efforts by all parties allowed issues to be mitigated during construction, and 400 students were moved in on the targeted occupancy date. The same speed of construction administration and team collaboration allowed the second milestone to also be reached.
Architectural and Engineering Design Requirements
The existing steam boilers were retrofitted to create hot water, rather than steam, to heat the building. A new two-pipe hot water system was installed along with new radiators, and the unit ventilators at the perimeter wall were removed. The new air conditioning system consists of a series of 50-60 ton rooftop units with ductwork running down the corridors that branch into the classrooms with fire dampers at wall penetrations. VAV boxes are provided for each classroom with reheat coils fed by the hot water piping system. This system allows individual control of each classroom and also allows portions of the building to be shut down when not in use, such as during summer school. Hot water for VAV box reheating allow this system to be operated less expensively than most structures that were dependent on electrical service for reheat.
Sunscreens and shading devices on the building create environmentally sustainable outcomes and meet the requirements of LEED for School Certification. Highlights of the sustainable design include recycling pavement, bio-retention areas to manage storm water run-off, energy-efficient mechanical and electrical systems, plumbing fixtures that conserve water usage, location of nearby mass transit and judicious reuse of the existing building.