Page 56 - Fall_2021

Main façade Courtesy of Bonstra |
before restoration. Haresign ARCHITECTS

Restored main façade of the Kanawha.

Renovated rear façade, with newly enclosed bays at center. Renovated stairwell. All photos © Anice Hoachlander/Studio HDP, except as noted

Washingtonian Residential Design masonry, clunky window air conditioners, and an obtrusive fire
Citation for Restoration escape added in the 1950s.
The Kanawha Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS was hired to oversee
Washington, DC the building’s rejuvenation, which earned a Citation for
Restoration in the Chapter Design Awards program. For
Bonstra | Haresign ARCHITECTS passersby, the most obvious improvements include the repair
and repointing of the brick façade, the removal of the fire escape,
Interior Designer: Akseizer Design Group and the fresh coat of black paint on the portico (previously
Structural Engineers: Keast & Hood; Simpson Gumpertz painted a stark white) and on the window frames and cornice
& Heger (previously a dingy gray). The A/C units are also gone, thanks
MEP Engineer: Capitol Engineering Group, LLC to the introduction of a modern split HVAC system that allowed
Historic Consultant: EHT Traceries outmoded radiators to be replaced, too.
General Contractor: Harbor Builders The building’s interior was thoroughly revamped.
Apartment layouts were modernized and rationalized, and
Nestled among the row houses lining Dumbarton Street, NW, is the ground floor was excavated to increase the floor-to-ceiling
the Kanawha, a four-story apartment building designed by Leon height on that level—a process that required the removal of
Emil Dessez and built in 1901. With its red brick façades, arched large boulders, which were blasted out and removed through
second-floor window niches, stone accents, and simple entrance the front door. An iron veranda spanning the rear façade was
portico, the building fits comfortably in genteel Georgetown partially restored, but the center portion was replaced by
despite being taller than most of its neighbors. It had fallen into projecting enclosed bays that extend the living spaces on the top
disrepair, however, and its front façade was marred by cracked three floors.

54 LIVING TOGETHER