Page 100 - Fall 2019

Citation for Sustainable Design

Marvin Gaye Recreation Center
Washington, DC
ISTUDIO Architects

Landscape Architects: Landscape Architecture Bureau
+ Symbiosis
Structural Engineers: Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
MEP/F Engineers: Setty & Associates
Civil Engineers: A. Morton Thomas & Associates
Technology Consultants: Educational Systems Planning
Glazing/Screen Installers: Delray Glass Interior of the center.
LEED Consultant: Dan Triman Photo © Anice Hoachlander/Hoachlander Davis Photography
Contractor: MCN Build
The building’s cantilevered design raises it out of the floodway,
extends the building’s form towards the stream, and creates a
The Marvin Gaye Recreation Center—a dynamic, bar-shaped
balcony that provides a vantage point among the trees. A perforated-
building designed by ISTUDIO Architects—is located at 15 61st
metal screen on the building’s southern and western sides filters
Street, NE, in Washington’s Grant Park neighborhood, not far from
daylight, controlling solar heat gain while also helping to frame
the District’s easternmost tip. The project has achieved LEED
views. A green roof covers the first-floor wing.
Gold certification.
On the building’s interior, “the pathway through the building
Underlying the building’s design was the concept of resilience—
was designed to enhance and encourage the user through the
an idea, the architects said, that applies to both how the project
building, and out to the balcony for a new view of the site,” the firm
responds to the site’s specific challenges, and to how the facility is
said. “Art, natural ventilation, and daylighting were all incorporated
intended to help to build resilience within the community. The
to create a healthy, inspiring experience.” The building’s narrow
overall goal, the firm said, was to create a community center that
footprint and interior glazing admit daylighting into all interior
would be “a resource for all, and a refuge in times of trouble, in
spaces. Operable windows in the program spaces and automated
service to the DC Department of Parks and Recreation’s mission
louvers in the open areas encourage natural ventilation. The building’s
to promote health, conservation, and universal access to parks.”
design reduces its energy use by 37.5% relative to a baseline for
A key design consideration was the Watts Branch Stream,
projects of this type.
which runs through the site. “A 100-year flood plain encompasses
approximately half of the site, and a FEMA-mandated floodway The project was previously covered in the Winter 2018 issue of
along Watts Branch Stream cuts the site in half,” the firm said. ARCHITECTUREDC, after it earned a similar citation awarded by
“This, along with majestic willow oaks on the northern half of the the AIA|DC president.
site and a large practice field to the south of the site, drove the center
to be located as close as possible to Watts Branch Stream.”

The Marvin Gaye Recreation Center. Photo © Anice Hoachlander/Hoachlander Davis Photography

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