PROJECT Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship House
LOCATION Washington, District of Columbia, US
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 10/22/2014
ARCHITECT Cunningham | Quill Architects
ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT
OWNER/CLIENT Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collections, Trustees for Harvard University
CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company
PHOTOGRAPHER Robert Creamer
ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM Ralph Cunningham, FAIA, Chris Morrison, FAIA, David Coxson, Assoc. AIA, Jennifer Harty, AIA, Alex Barker, Ana Baker, AIA
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT
The Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship House is an adaptive reuse project to dramatically convert, and add on to, a 1950s commercial building in the Georgetown neighborhood in order to provide twenty-five dwelling units for Harvard University’s Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection’s annual student fellows and their families, as well as public spaces for the Dumbarton Oaks’ community. Located on a corner lot, the building faces a commercial corridor and backs up on a traditional Georgetown residential street. The new addition is rotated to take advantage of the shape of the site while maintaining the integrity of the original building and creating usable outdoor space. A very irregular site is reintegrated into the existing Georgetown grid. Three-story additions on the west and north elevations were inserted at an angle to the existing footprint, and are orthogonal to the residential street. A penthouse addition, serving as a public amenity space, steps in from the building parapet and is surrounded by green roof plantings. Flat-seam copper paneling was chosen for the smaller-scaled residential bays and roof top because of its historical association with residential architectural forms. The small residential bays of the addition are also intended to recall the scale and precedent of townhomes lining the adjacent residential streets. A very robust program is provided within a confined, urban footprint. Dwelling units are configured into furnished studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom arrangements, with multi-use spaces at the upper and lower levels of the building to support Fellowship life, education, and health. The new programming includes ground-level Garden Room (gathering place), fitness room, sound-proof Music Room, common lounge, laundry room, bike room and storage room, fourth floor Oak Room (presentation space), as well as a commercial kitchen, and outdoor terrace. The public interior spaces employ solid white oak and limestone panels for a calm, but crisp and bright palette. The site also underwent significant improvement to provide attractive landscaping and parking. The previously existing black-asphalt parking lot outside the Garden Room was demolished and levelled out, and now incorporates a combination of precast granite, bluestone and concrete pavers surrounded by Gingko trees and low shrubs. A stainless steel cable vegetation-training system on the brick-clad west and south elevations of the new addition as well as the front entrance, allow for vertical plantings to rise up the building. These green walls provide passive shading and soften the building within the residential context. It was important that the building’s landscaping reflect Dumbarton Oaks reputation for expansive and creative gardens. An integrated design process brought together countless institutional staff members, from the Director, professors and art curatorial staff to the gardeners and building maintenance staff, in partnership with the entire project Design Team. Numerous conversations, meetings and presentations with the Dumbarton Oaks’ staff members, sustainability reviews with Harvard Green Building Services, and a Peer Review informed the program and successfully addressed a myriad institutional goals and opinions. The team also met with neighbors, local advisory groups and regulatory boards to discuss the project and address any concerns.
MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall_high res ext, Wisconsin Facade with Addition, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 2 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall_high res int, Garden Room in New Addition, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 3 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (1), Courtyard Entrance into Addition, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 4 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (2), Wisconsin Entrance with new Signage, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 5 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (3), Rooftop Balcony and Green Roof, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 6 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (4), Unit Interiors, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 7 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (5), Addition View from Courtyard, © Robert Creamer Photography
IMAGE 8 DumbartonOaksFellowshipHall (5), Oak Room, © Robert Creamer Photography
Dumbarton Oaks Fellowship House
Category
Local > AIA Potomac Valley > Institutional Architecture (AIA Potomac Valley)
Winner Status
- Merit Award
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