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The living area before renovation, with a solid wall
separating it from the lounge area.
Courtesy of FORMA Design
“We were unafraid and happy with Andreas doing
pretty much what he wanted,” said the homeowner.
“These were dream clients,” said the architect. The
result of this made-in-heaven collaboration is a boldly
re-imagined Georgetown pied-à-terre overlooking
the C&O Canal made distinctive with a series of
curvilinear cove ceilings that both unify and define the
spaces of this two-bedroom/two-bath condo.
Ruthie Carliner and her husband live in the
Baltimore area, are empty nesters, and were looking
for a getaway place in Washington where they could
enjoy the city’s cultural life and restaurant scene.
“This minimal modern style was a big departure for
us,” said Carliner, noting that their primary residence
in Maryland is far more traditional. The couple had
seen images on Houzz of the interior design projects
of Andreas Charalambous, AIA, IIDA, principal
of FORMA Design. “Right away we recognized his
attention to detail and edgy design,” recalled Carliner.
When Charalambous first saw the 1,400-square-
foot flat in a 12-year-old building he thought it was
in reasonable condition with nice views and floor-to-
ceiling windows. He wondered what his new clients
were hoping for. It turned out they were up for an
adventure and wanted to hear from him what he
envisioned for the space. Without a lengthy list of
“must-haves” from the homeowner or pre-conceived
stylistic constraints from the designer, client and
architect were off and running.
They began with the floors. “They weren’t terrible,
just standard builder-grade wood floors,” remembered
the architect. When he mentioned radiantly heated
stone flooring, the homeowners were immediately
intrigued. They all went to a stone showroom and
quickly settled on large-format gray stone tiles
throughout the apartment. “Making the decision about
Project: 3303 Water Street Flat, the flooring really helped us to move forward with the
Washington, DC design of the rest of the space.”
Working with Poliform | sagartstudio,
Architect: FORMA Design, Inc. Charalambous replaced the dark wood finishes
Structural Engineer: Keast & Hood Structural Engineers and granite countertops of the kitchen with glossy
MEP Engineer: Capitol Engineering Group, LLC
Audiovisual Consultant: Casaplex cabinets and Silestone counters all in pristine white
General Contractor: cmg construx that contrast cleanly with the gray stone floors.
All photos © Geoffrey Hodgdon, except as noted
RADIANTLY MODERN ON THE C&O CANAL 33