PROJECT Lot 31: The Darcy + The Flats at Bethesda Avenue

LOCATION  Bethesda, Maryland US

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  7/15/2015

ARCHITECT SK+I Architecture

ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT  No

OWNER/CLIENT Lot 31 Development Statutory Trust

CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  Clark Construction

PHOTOGRAPHER  Max Zhang

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Sami Kirkdil, FAIA – Head of Design; Meral Iskir, FAIA – Quality Control Principal; Jon Wallenmeyer, AIA – Principal-in-Charge; Marius Radulescu, AIA – Lead Architect; Eda Kaya, AIA – Project Architect

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

This LEED Silver, masterplanning project reclaims an upscale suburb’s urban core by transforming a 3.3 acre parking lot into multi-family residences, outstanding retail, beautiful public spaces, and expanded private/public parking. The project includes 25% affordable units, 50,000 sf of retail, and an additional 20% of open space. The design team was challenged to build a contextual and contemporary building that significantly increased the parking, enhanced the pedestrian experience, and accommodated automobiles and cyclists.

The project reimagines dead urban space through two residential buildings that curve and angle in an agile response to existing—and emergent—context. The high-rise extends Bethesda Row, the main retail street. The low-rise mediates between a block of single-family homes and the city; along running trails, brick and metal cladding take on the townhouse and then flex industrial muscle on the more urban side. A continuous concrete curve connects the two buildings with civic authority; metal and glass bays define the street edge. Around the corner, the high-rise building slides behind a six-story brick frame that curves with the street; the low-rise repeats the frame on the other side.

A public courtyard leads out to the Capitol Crescent Trail that links Bethesda to three neighboring cities and a new trail connection was created to further link residents and the surrounding neighborhood to the adjacent trail. A recent survey by The Maryland National Capitol Park and Planning Commission shows that the trail is one of the most widely used in the nation with hourly users that can exceed 500 people at peak times. In an effort to accommodate users from all over the county, a designated drop-off circle was designed so that vehicles—particularly those with top-mounted bicycles—could off-load before entering the garage. The project bridges the intersection of Woodmont and Bethesda Avenue, a very busy intersection for both vehicles and pedestrians. In the planning phase, a camera was mounted to monitor and identify pedestrian challenges. The design team used this information as an opportunity to make improvements for the overall community and to ensure a safe experience for residents. Woodmont Avenue was redesigned into a graceful curve that creates a more pedestrian friendly urban core and reduces the pedestrian crosswalks by half.

Downtown Bethesda is a walkable urban village that has become a shopping and dining mecca for the more suburban neighborhoods in Montgomery County. Visitors often come and spend the better part of a day or evening on foot enjoying the retail and restaurant amenities The design team was challenged to enhance the pedestrian experience while accommodating automobiles and cyclists. A solution was found in creating Montgomery County’s first underground parking lot with more than three times the public parking previously available. It was no easy feat—the complexity of design and construction were unparalleled with an underground garage structure with over 60’ column bays and 6’ deep transfer beams and a reconstructed Woodmont Avenue—which in some locations is a bridge like structure over the garage.

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project/Jury PDF

IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS

IMAGE 1  Caption: The Darcy and The Flats from Bethesda Avenue; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 2  Caption: Retail at The Flats; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 3  Caption: Street View; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 4  Caption: The Flats' Courtyard; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 5  Caption: Retail at the Flats and Capital Crescent Trail; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 6  Caption: The Darcy with Three-story Glass Structure; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 7  Caption: The Darcy with The Flats Looking Down Woodmont Ave; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC

IMAGE 8  Caption: Rooftop Terrace; Photographer: ©IRIS22 Productions LLC