925 5th Street NW
Washington, DC
CLIENT
Peebles Corporation
STATUS
Proposed
SERVICES
Architecture
more
Program

54,000-gsf, 10-story, 47-unit high-end residential building with ground floor retail.

Description

Located in the Mount Vernon Triangle Historic District, 925 5th street NW is a new 54,000-gsf residential building. Situated on a mid-block parcel on 5th street, in-between K Street and I Street, the 47 residential units are distributed on the top 10 stories. The north portion of the site is in Square B and D of the Mount Vernon Triangle Principal Intersection Area.

The original building, built in 1946 and designed by W. Ellis Groben, a local architect, was designed for Director Company, a prominent kosher meat distributor. The polychrome panel on the ground floor façade along 5th street is the only original portion of the building that’s still standing. The openings of the storefront have been added on and changed throughout the years. The original panel was used as a signage band that once read ‘Director’s Deli’, letters are faintly visible today under a coat of paint. The polychrome panel will be stripped, restored and then integrated as part of the building base composition, creating a focal point for the pedestrian experience.

The base of the building was designed to be complimentary in material and to relate proportionally with adjacent buildings. Large storefront windows activate the ground floor level and are reminisce of the buildings original function. The glass walls on the right hand side of the building brought the vocabulary and materiality from the top portion of the building slide down to the pedestrian level defining the residential entrance. The second and the third floor of the building base are set back from the face of the polychrome panel to emphasize its historical significance. The fourth floor of the building is also set back significantly to create a relief between the building base and the upper floors. This gesture helps to accentuate the base and provides an opportunity for the roof terrace area that allows color, texture and activities to be incorporated as part of the building architecture.

The top 6 floors of the buildings are also set back from the face of the polychrome panel. Every 2 floors are twisted and angled creating a dramatic movement up the building. The façade is cladded with a glass window wall system with metal panels. This lends a sense of lightness and creates a unique aesthetic to the building. Glass balconies are incorporated with the façade composition providing more outdoor area for the residents. The clear glass wall along the 5th street, will have a white band of vertical pattern, a "rice paper effect" that expands gradually from the finished floor level up to 24" high providing privacy to the interior space.

Employing different materials on the upper floors, and the unique interface with the building base, the existing context of the neighborhood accentuates this building in a way that creates an interesting visual marker for the neighborhood.

925 5th Street NW
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