Sky House I and II: Narrative

The Avenue Washington, DC Residential Multi-Family This project is emblematic of a community turning the corner. It is the first phase of the revitalization of Park Morton, a public housing property which will be redeveloped to be a higher-density mixed-income community. To enable redevelopment on the Park Morton site without displacement of current residents, this building was constructed with separate tax credit financing less than a block away; thus, the first set of garden apartments can be vacated and rebuilt. The neighborhood is one in economic transition resulting from the nearby Metro station and the economic waves extending from nearby Columbia Heights. This project secures a place for the neighbors who have defined this neighborhood for decades. The Avenue is an 83-unit mixed-income mixeduse property with both public housing units and units serving residents earning less than 60% of Area Median Income. The design focuses on the tall corner element, which beckons one from the Metro with a sky balcony, and draws one in from the sidewalk with a double-height butt-glazed lobby that feels more like an outdoor porch than an interior lobby. The interior wood mullions grace the space with warmth; the exterior Trespa panels expand the wood theme to the full height of the tower. The two street facades use the same elements of brick, glass & metal bay windows, and cementitious panel walls, but the compositions adapt to their context. Along Newton Street, the assymetric grouping starts low, with bay windows and entrances direct into apartments that articulate the pedestrian experience much as the adjacent townhouses do. Along Georgia Avenue, the façade becomes tripartite above a retail canopy, with the elevated bays feeling formal; the asymmetry is reduced to secondary mullion gestures. 1

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The Avenue: Photos

Three compositions address the three contextual approaches: stepped and low along residential Newton Street; tall and focal at the corner which is visible for some distance from the Metro, and gracefully formal fronting commercial Georgia Avenue.

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The Avenue: Photos

The streetscape along Newton is designed to continue the pattern of the adjacent townhouses.

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The Avenue: Photos

The exterior street walls turn into the lobby, and the full-height glass opens the lobby to the street to establish a social connection with the community much like a front porch.

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The Avenue: Photos

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The Avenue: Photos

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The Avenue: Photos

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The Avenue: Photos

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The Avenue: Site Plan

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