Page 18 - Fall 2019

renewed sense of vitality to an otherwise stuffy part of
town. According to Pasquarelli, the developer, Carr
Properties, supported this generous approach, perhaps
because in this case it did not require sacrificing any
buildable square footage, and also because this was
the first commercial building in the city to be permitted
under new zoning laws allowing fully occupiable
penthouses above the main height limit—a boon in terms
of leasable space.
The central courtyard, designed by landscape
architects SCAPE Studio, consists of an irregular pattern
of crisp geometric shapes—some paved, some planted,
some with seating, and one open to a slightly recessed,
cascading fountain. Complementing the diagonal
pedestrian paths at ground level are the three sky bridges,
which are lined with copper fins that help shade the
glass-enclosed corridors, but also cast ever-changing
shadows that animate the plaza and its perimeter. The
juxtaposition of the rectangular grid of the office building
and the intersecting diagonals of the ground-level paths
and sky bridges recalls the similar geometries of Pierre
Charles L’Enfant’s original plan for the city of
Washington. The effect is equally dynamic.
In contrast to the smooth glass curtain wall façades
surrounding the courtyard, the street façades are rippling
tapestries of patinated copper and glass. The projecting
bays are offset both horizontally and vertically, creating
a macro-pattern that not only brings depth to the façades,
but also helps to reduce solar gain and glare in the interior.
The five-by-ten-foot window bays were fabricated directly
from digital design files—a technique pioneered by SHoP
in earlier projects.
The distinctive turquoise hue of the patinated copper
helps the project stand out from its corporate neighbors,
but was also intended to link the building to its broader
historic context. “Washington has a tradition of [using]
copper for roofs and details on older buildings,” said
Ben Audrain, AIA, senior associate at WDG Architecture.
“This is one of the few recent projects that really takes
advantage of ornamental metals. It is part of a strategy
of exploring natural materials throughout the project.”
During the early stages of design development, the Penthouse level.
project caught the attention of Fannie Mae, the mortgage
loan behemoth that was looking to move from its
longtime headquarters on upper Wisconsin Avenue.
Fannie Mae ended up taking most of the building’s office
space. The office interiors were designed under separate
contract by Michael Graves Architecture & Design, based
in Princeton, New Jersey.
Midtown Center is SHoP’s first completed project
in DC, but the firm is already working on a building for
the second phase of the District Wharf, once again with
WDG as the associated architects.

Saw-tooth bay pattern on one of the street façades.

16 MIDTOWN FUNK