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ArchDC Summer 2018.qxp_Summer 2018 5/25/18 2:18 PM Page 61

Bookcase separating living areas
of the Waterview Condominium.

All photos © Maxwell MacKenzie Architectural Photographer

spans nearly 5,000 square feet and has exposures on three sides, tucked into the northeast corner of the apartment. Three
with floor-to-ceiling windows affording broad views across the bedrooms, a home office, and a children’s playroom form an
Potomac River as well as slot views between adjacent towers. L-shaped wing along the east and south walls of the building.
The current owner hired Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, to renovate These spaces are largely defined by blocks of closets and bookcases
the apartment, which previously suffered from a fragmented layout rather than typical drywall partitions.
and haphazard ceiling planes. “The spaces seemed compartmen- Having opened up the plan, Gurney found the goal of
talized,” recalled Gurney, “and when you walked around, you rationalizing the ceiling plane to be a thornier challenge. It turns
noticed areas with lowered ceilings and dropped bulkheads. We out that there was a reason for all those bumps and lumps: they
wanted to open it up, and make the whole space about the views.” concealed critical parts of the building’s infrastructure, such as
To achieve that, Gurney reconceived the apartment as a series
of interconnected volumes rather than traditional “rooms.” The main Project: Waterview Condominium,
living and dining area is now a single sweeping space running Arlington, VA
along the gently curving north wall, which faces Georgetown. A
Architect: Robert M. Gurney, FAIA, Architect
large, apparently freestanding bookcase—which actually wraps
Interior Designer: Therese Baron Gurney, ASID
around a structural wall that helps to brace the building laterally— Structural Engineers: Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson & Associates, Inc.
separates that space from an adjacent, less formal living area Contractor: Peterson and Collins Inc.

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