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Shared living/dining/kitchen space in one of the co-living units.

Washingtonian Residential Design Award
The Aldea
Washington, DC
Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS
Structural Engineer: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
MEP Engineer: Capitol Engineering Group, LLC
Civil Engineer: KEA, LLC
General Contractor: Harbor Builders

A short distance from Linden Flats, standing roughly across H
Street from the Atlas Performing Arts Center, is the Aldea, a
small mixed-use project with retail space on the ground floor
and three, full-floor co-living apartments above, designed by
Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS. Each co-living unit consists
of a large, shared living/dining/kitchen space spanning the
entire width of the street façade, plus five bedroom/bathroom
suites flanking a double-loaded corridor running perpendicular
to the main living area, creating a clear separation between
private and communal spaces. Each bedroom has its own Rear and side of the Aldea.
balcony, and there is a spacious roof deck with an outdoor
kitchen accessible to all tenants.
The building is distinguished by its simple yet bold is marked by an exterior egress stair—reminiscent of the fire
composition, coupled with some striking material choices. The escapes on urban apartment buildings of yore—and a shiny
ground floor on the main façade is lined with gray iron-spot stainless steel grease flue, which was installed in anticipation of
brick, which introduces a subtle pattern and visual texture a restaurant occupying the ground floor and cellar level.
while alluding to the weathered brick on nearby historic The co-housing concept, in which unrelated individuals
structures. Intersecting that gray brick zone is a vertical panel rent their own bedroom suites but share living, dining, and
of green glazed tile framed in steel plate with inset windows kitchen areas, is generating growing interest among both
on the residential floors. The rest of the façade is clad in stucco developers and prospective tenants in cities with a high cost
punctuated by steel-framed windows with asymmetrical of living. In contrast to most group houses, where tenants
vertical bands of green glazed brick that complement the larger often struggle to find privacy and compete for bathroom time,
green panel. custom-designed co-housing seeks to strike a thoughtful,
The rear of the building has a more industrial character practical balance between private and shared space. The Aldea
thanks to its pre-colored gray fiber-cement cladding and the is one of several such projects that have received AIA|DC
angled steel rods that help to support the bedroom balconies awards in recent years, suggesting that this building type may
while preventing uplift in windy conditions. The alley façade be entering its heyday.

LIVING TOGETHER 51