Page 24 - Fall_2017

ArchDC Fall 2017.qxp_Fall 2017 8/10/17 1:06 PM Page 22

walls to be read as planes that are slipping past the
building. It’s a feature that can be found on a few other
recent downtown office buildings, notably 1999 K Street,
NW, which also employs an angled edge.
Washington’s diagonal streets frequently pose a
challenge for architects deciding how to treat the narrow
end of a building. A common response has been to round
it off—a strategy that is done well on some buildings, but
less so on others, sometimes becoming a lazy, throwaway
architectural gesture. CORE’s squared-off and angle-edged
design represents a departure from this approach.
“It doesn’t default to a tower form, but instead uses the
complex geometry of the site to create a dynamic corner
form,” Martin said. “The different angles of glass wall
vary slightly in color throughout the day, reinforcing the
inherent complex angles of the two streets and the remaining
alley.” Martin noted that the way the building handles
The glassy Massachusetts Avenue façade, which is
the corner at 6th Street and Massachusetts Avenue is
broken up by a series of projecting bays.
probably his favorite thing about the building’s design.
Although they have differing personalities, the three
facades of 600 Massachusetts are tied together by a
continuity of materials to create an integrated design for
the building. Common elements across the facades include
window frame materials and configurations, and textured
light-gray granite panels.
Visitors entering the building on its north side cross
over a shallow pool that forms part of a water feature
running along that side of the building. The feature serves
as the spine of a small urban park that acts as both an
oasis and a buffer between the building and the busy
street, putting 600 Massachusetts into a small club of
downtown office buildings with publicly accessible water
elements that are something more than simple fountains.
Other members of this club include the Universal North
office building at 1875 Connecticut Avenue, NW, which
View of the building from the southeast, showing
tucks a gentle waterfall into its sloping T Street side facing solar shading devices on the south-facing glass façades
the Washington Hilton Hotel; the National Geographic and new, brick-clad wings (at left) adjacent to historic
complex on M Street, NW, between 16th and 17th streets, buildings (foreground).
with its Zen-like rock-sculpture pool; and the
CityCenterDC mixed-use complex (see the Fall 2013
issue of ARCHITECTUREDC), which has a water scrim
running through its central courtyard.
The water element at 600 Massachusetts “began as a
sunken court with a bridge leading to the main entrance,”
Martin said. “It was derived from the Chinese tradition
of bridge-gates to important places. In the course of the
many approval steps, the design became a glass bridge
over a pool of water. The landscape designers, Guthrie
Gustafson Nichol, took that idea and extended it into the
long rill [i.e., small stream] that runs the length of the
Massachusetts Avenue façade, separating a semi-private
zone next to the building from the public zone along
the avenue.”
The building includes a second entrance on its I
Street side. Upon entering the building, visitors encounter
a four-story enclosed atrium. The building offers its tenants
a number of amenities in addition to the terraces, including
a fitness center, a bicycle locker room, and a 300-car
underground garage.

22 EVERY STORY HAS TWO SIDES