Page 72 - ArchDC_Spring 2020

Views of lobby.

This formula, combined with a new church by GBR Subtle design moves contribute to the sense of place and
Architects of Alexandria, proved successful—not only in terms add distinction. The idea of water appears in multiple ways,
of architectural expression, but in the critical community and referring to the near-the-water site as well as the central role
agency approvals process. Initially using a more standard- that water plays in the Baptist faith. Most prominently, adjacent
issue design by a different architect, Hoffman had encountered to the building entrance, a water wall livens the streetscape at
significant resistance from the famously active and opinionated the bend in 7th Street, SW. The bush-hammered texture of the
Southwest community. “When we came into the project, the precast vertical panels between windows evokes water-eroded
conventional [development] strategies had been exhausted,” rocks, contrasting with the smooth horizontal panels. More
commented Ashton Allan, AIA, design principal at STUDIOS. abstractly, watery blue accents recur in the interior spaces.
“We started with a unique clean slate—we got to set aside the Architecture and construction are serious enterprises, to
pro forma solutions and come at the problem a different way.” be sure, but designers can have a little bit of fun. At the Banks,
STUDIOS started by re-engaging the community. “The each member of the design team was asked to choose a “spirit
community process helped us prioritize,” said Hiroshi Jacobs, animal,” and many little decorative animals were purchased
AIA, STUDIOS project designer for the Banks. Immediate and placed within the common areas. Quite likely in 15 years or
neighbors in Waterside Towers, quite naturally, were concerned so, when wear-and-tear and fashion demands renovations to the
about their views being truncated: To minimize that, STUDIOS common areas, the animals will go away. But for now, they are a
lowered the northeastern wing of the proposed new building charming, silent tribute to those who created the building.
from nine to seven stories. The community in general was These days, one hears a lot about new buildings “knitting
concerned that the high modernism of the urban renewal era an urban fabric back together.” Sensitivity to context, focus on
not be subsumed by standard-issue 21st-century design. In the pedestrian experience, and appreciation for the benefits
response, STUDIOS proposed facades that are a clear homage of density are principles of much 21st-century architecture to
to the urban renewal architecture, with precast concrete as date. The original scheme for the new apartment building—the
the primary material, a regular grid of deep openings, and one nixed by the community—embodied those principles,
geometrically patterned screens as balcony guardrails. but perhaps did not go far enough. The programmatic and
The new scheme, embraced by Rev. Dr. Michael Bledsoe, the architectural departures from the norm that characterize the
pastor of Riverside Baptist, quickly made it through the community Banks reflect modest shifts in concept, but they illustrate how,
review process and the DC Zoning Commission. The new church when thoughtfully conceived and skillfully executed, small
and the Banks are deliberately quite different, with separate differences can add up, the whole becoming larger than the sum
architectural teams and distinct architectural expressions, but of the parts. The Banks is a vital step in the integration of the
they complement each other. The pairing of smaller and larger Wharf to the adjacent city.
scales—the church is about the height of three stories of the Banks
and has a much smaller footprint—is reminiscent of similar
juxtapositions at Waterside Towers and the Wharf.
70 BUILDING CONNECTIONS