Page 52 - ArchDC_Spring 2020

Big Little
Big Little

Living
Living

Renovation Makes

the Most of 500

Square Feet

by Louis Duva

Inventive architects, working with open-minded
clients, are revolutionizing small-scale living in city
centers. By making better use of often-overlooked
efficiency units, especially those in older buildings,
skillful renovations can simultaneously reduce
unnecessary new construction while expanding
affordable housing options in cities that desperately
need them.
The Washington region is full of such small-scale
living units, not just in the District but also throughout
Northern Virginia and Maryland. Mid-to-late-20th-
century housing developments, like those along DC’s
Southwest Waterfront, provide an opportunity to revisit
efficiency and studio apartments from the past and
reinvent them for contemporary living. Through strategic
design, architects can alter common perceptions of
small-scale living while adding urban density without
overcrowding. A denser city means less dependency on
cars, less waste, greater convenience for residents, and a
wider array of housing opportunities.
Built from 1963 to 1966, Harbour Square is the
work of a leading female architect of the time, and Kitchen area with restored original red cabinets.
one of the first women to become a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects, Chloethiel Woodard Main living space.
Smith (1910-1992). One of the major developments in
the Southwest urban renewal zone, Harbour Square
remains a catalyst even today, standing as a southern
bookend to the recently opened Wharf project, and just
a few blocks from the continuously expanding Navy
Yard neighborhood.
Presented with the opportunity to reconfigure a
ground floor, one-room unit in this historic complex,
Luis Boza, AIA, NCARB, and Matthew Geiss, AIA,
NCARB, of the architecture firm reform, llc, were

Project: SW Waterfront Residence,
Washington, DC

Architects/Interior Designers: reform, llc
General Contractor: Something Different Contracting

50 BIG LITTLE LIVING