PROJECT House of Lebanon
LOCATION Washington, District of Columbia,
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 11/1/2013
ARCHITECT Cunningham | Quill Architects
ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT
OWNER/CLIENT Mission First Housing Development Corporation
CONTRACTOR Hamel Builders
PHOTOGRAPHER
Anice Hoachlander; Cunningham | Quill Architects
DESIGN TEAM
Scott Matties, AIA, LEED-AP; Ana Baker, AIA, LEED-AP; Heather Rao, AIA, LEED-AP; Sylvan Miles, AIA, Jeff McBride RA, LEED-AP; Sarah Shipp Ryan, AIA
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:
This adaptive reuse project in the Historic Shaw Neighborhood of Washington, DC, transformed the former Margaret Murray Washington School into 82 affordable apartments for independent seniors and a community center to serve the surrounding neighborhood. The original school structure, built in 1912 and subsequently added to in 1928 and 1938, was restored, receiving Historic Tax Credits through the National Park Service Section 106 Process to supplement the Low Income Housing Tax Credits received from HUD. The more recent 1971 Gymnasium addition underwent substantial modifications to its mass and skin to introduce a more residential scale and create a more sympathetic partner for this historic structure. The House of Lebanon was certified under the Enterprise Green Communities Program. Originally known as the O Street Vocational School, the school was established to provide “domestic science and art for girls.” A movement to encourage training in the craft and domestic skills spread across Europe and America in the 1870s and 1880s. By the end of the century, Tuskegee Institute founder Booker T. Washington espoused widespread vocational training for African Americans. It was fitting that, 14 years after opening, the school was renamed in 1926 for the late widow of Booker T. Washington, “Lady Principal” of Tuskegee and a leader of several black feminist organizations. During World War II, the school began offering courses in nursing. Its graduates were lauded by the military, and a three-year, evening nursing program grew quickly after the war and was soon accredited. The House of Lebanon project restored the original historic school building and significantly altered the 1970’s “Brutalist Style” gym addition to create a structure more compatible with the neighborhood’s density and architectural style. In 2011, the building was designated a historic landmark to allow historic tax credits to be used as a source of funding. This designation also required that intact historic finishes be repaired in place wherever possible and limited some of the alterations to the historic portions of the building. Existing terrazzo flooring and ceramic tile walls were carefully matched and restored. The historic brick corridor walls were repaired with matching brick. Historic features such as hallway lockers were incorporated into the design and original windows were restored and fitted with interior storm windows to improve energy efficiency. The most dramatic historic restoration feat of the team involved exposing the original 1912 western elevation by removing a portion of the 1971 addition and creating a new courtyard. The 1912 façade was cleaned, re-pointed, and restored and windows installed in their original openings, allowing the historic building to read as a single structure on its own.
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 2 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 3 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 4 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 5 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 6 © Anice Hoachlander
IMAGE 7 © Anice Hoachlander
Media For Download
Project PDF
House of Lebanon
Category
AIA Potomac Valley > Residential Architecture - Multifamily (AIA Potomac Valley)
Winner Status
- Merit Award
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