Page 49 - 256149_ArchDC_Winter 2021
P. 49
Connector between the existing and new buildings.
Two Rivers Public Charter School, named for the
Potomac and Anacostia rivers, serves more than 1,000
pre-K through 8th grade students with a curriculum
built around project-based learning and community
building. The school has two campuses: one on 4th
Street, NE, in Washington’s Union Market area, and the
other on 26th Street, NE, in the city’s Carver/Langston
neighborhood, a few blocks west of Kingman Island.
The 26th Street campus is anchored by Charles
Young Elementary, a former DC public school (DCPS)
that was founded in 1931 and named for Colonel
Charles Young, a notable Black military officer and the
first Black superintendent of the National Park Service.
Following DCPS’s closure of the school in 2008, the
building was extensively renovated and reopened in
2015 as Two Rivers at Young (TRY).
To accommodate its growing student ranks, Two
Rivers hired Studio Twenty Seven Architecture
to design an additional building for the 26th Street
campus to serve the school’s 6th through 8th graders.
The project also included renovating some spaces in the
existing elementary school building and improving the
All photos © Anice Hoachlander/StudioHDP
campus’s existing gymnasium. John Burke, AIA, a firm
Project: Two Rivers Middle School, principal and co-founder, was the principal-in-charge,
830 26th Street, NE, Washington, DC while Jake Marzolf, AIA, an associate principal, and
Architect: Studio Twenty Seven Architecture Natalie Mutchler, AIA, IIDA, worked together as the
Landscape Architect/Civil Engineer: Christopher Consultants project’s lead designers and architects.
Structural Engineer: Ehlert Bryan The resulting new building, called Two Rivers
MEP Engineer: Engenium Group Middle School, is a two-floor, 28,414-square-foot, LEED
Geotechnical Engineer: ECS Gold-certified structure with classrooms, support and
Acoustical Consultant: Acoustical Design Collaborative
IT/AV Consultant: Dynamic Network Solutions administrative spaces, and an entry foyer featuring
LEED Coordination: Dan Triman what the school refers to as “sitting steps”—a design
Construction Manager at Risk: Building Hope element found in all Two Rivers buildings where
General Contractor: MCN Build students and staff gather for meetings and events.
ADVANCED PLACEMENT 47
