PROJECT The Terrell (Short Term Family and Permanent Supportive Housing)

ARCHITECT Cunningham | Quill Architects

LOCATION  Washington, District of Columbia US

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  2/2/2021

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Ralph Cunningham, FAIA, Ana Baker, AIA, Alex Comas, AIA, Nandor Mitrocsak, AIA, Heather Daley-Rao, AIA
OWNER/CLIENT DC Department of Human Services
CONTRACTOR/CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  GCS | SIGAL
PHOTOGRAPHER  Anice Hoachlander

LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Landscape Architecture Bureau
CIVIL ENGINEER Wiles Mensch Corporation - DC
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER Yun Associates
MECHANICAL ENGINEER Setty and Associates
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER Setty and Associates
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT  

This short-term family housing site is a part of Homeward DC, a plan to end long-term homelessness, with the goal of making homelessness in D.C. a “rare, brief and nonrecurring experience”. The District has committed to providing dignified, safe, and secure housing with wraparound services for families in each ward to access programs that will help them become stable and find a way out of homelessness.
This site is a capstone of the strategic plan as is named after Mary Church Terrell, who was a DC teacher that championed civil rights and women’s suffrage in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Terrell will house 35 families in one wing and permanent supportive housing for 15 senior women in another.
The Architecture of this building was driven by the program, context, economical material selection sustainable opportunities and social and economic impact. The design of the facility was a response to the context of its Columbia Heights location, on a former city-owned parking lot on 14th Street that’s adjacent to the Rita Bright Family and Youth Center. Working with input from the community, it was discovered that there was a path diagonally from the corner of Clifton Street to the community center’s entrance. A building flush to the street would have cut off that familiar route, so instead the first floor to angles inward to create an accessible path, highlighting and celebrating the center’s entrance. As a result of this approach, a section of the upper floors cantilevers out. Three pale hues of fiber-cement cladding were chosen, along with varying sizes of windows, to emphasize movement and energy stepping away from the building’s otherwise regular pattern of brick and windows. The result is a façade that dances along 14th street. The design engages with the community center, and engages with the community itself.
Inside, each floor is distinguished by a color that designates a “neighborhood” where the walls, floor tile and furniture express that hue, whether it’s orange, purple or blue. The colors not only add personality, but also serve as a wayfinding and security device. Tall ceilings feature exposed structure that provides detail while also allowing for taller ceiling heights and windows. A pre-fabricated panelized system was utilized for schedule and budget, providing a robust type 2B construction type for the facility which expects to see heavy use.
LEED Platinum certification is in process, and the building has an 18% energy savings through the use of air sealing between units, high performing envelope, VRF units, and green roof systems. There is also an innovative storm water drainage system that runs underneath the play surface to a bio-retention planter to treat the water onsite.
The program has experienced great success with a majority of families being able to move on after 90 days. With this success, it is truly a national model for homelessness, and if the rate of homelessness ever declined to the point where the facility was no longer needed, it could be converted to market rate housing.

JURY COMMENTS (If applicable)

[KY=Kim Yao (Chair)  KD=Kimberly Dowdell  TY=Takashi Yanai]

KY: The building has very nice individual units with great views and a simple approach to the material palette.

KD: This is a very strong project that offers a thoughtful response to the site conditions while presenting an elegant design solution for an important community need.

TY: The program is great and the building has a clear parti with successful amenity spaces. Intelligent choices and the thoughtful allocation of the material budget pays off. It's urbanistically strong, and I appreciate that they included views of the unit interiors!

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project/Jury PDF

IMAGES (Captions and Photographer Credit)

1. View from Northeast corner of building at Clifton and 14th Streets NW, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
2. View from 14th Street, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
3. 3 Bedroom unit with plentiful daylight, Photography by Anice Hoachlander

4. Unit on 5th floor with views of DC, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
5. Permanent Supportive Housing wing and Courtyard, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
6. Lobby for Short Term Family Housing, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
7. Colorful central playground and courtyard space, Photography by Anice Hoachlander
8. Short Term Family community room next to the playground, Photography by Anice Hoachlander