PROJECT  Union Market

ARCHITECT  Hord Coplan Macht

LOCATION  Washington, District of Columbia, US​

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  4/1/2024

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Frank Andre, Joe O'Toole, Alana Thurmond, Greg Packham, Jack Rutka, Joe Schneider
OWNER/CLIENT  Gables + Edens
CONTRACTOR/CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  John Moriarty & Associates
PHOTOGRAPHER  Seamus Payne
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT Mahan Rykiel Associates - Matt Renauld
CIVIL ENGINEER Bohler Engineering
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER  EM Structural
MECHANICAL ENGINEER  EDG2
ELECTRICAL ENGINEER  Power Design Inc.
CONSULTANT  Campbell Code Consulting - chris@campbellcodeconsulting.com, Code
CONSULTANT  Steven Winter Associates jandracchio@swinter.com, Sustainability and Accessibility
CONSULTANT  Richter & Associates Inc. srichter@richterassociates.com
CONSULTANT  Simpson Gumpertz & Heger EKOlson@sgh.com, Building Envelope
CONSULTANT  US Pools dclark@uspools.net, pool
CONSULTANT  Streetsense aalcott@streetsense.com, Interior Design
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT  
Union Market Residential is in the heart of the Union Market District, adjacent to the district’s centerpiece, Union Market. The neighborhood has a unique character in the city of Washington DC, having operated as a rugged and bustling wholesale market district for much of the past century. In recent years it has undergone deliberate re development which retains the use, texture and vitality of the historic district while carefully adding density and integrating a wide variety of new uses. The careful blend of old and new preserves the neighborhood’s authenticity, while expanding its diverse and vital character. G.U.M. takes this rich cultural and physical texture as its starting point. Bound to the existing Union Market by a common alley/ plaza, the ground floor of the new project is primarily retail that fronts on the entire plaza to the south as well as both 5th and 6th streets to the west and east. Access to the underground parking and service is located on the narrow 6th street edge, while the residential lobby is located on the 5th street edge, an active market and retail street.

The massing of the building is broken into two primary components: a masonry mass that nods to the existing historic architecture through its light-colored brick architecture, and a floating volume clad in a dark metal, evoking the metal sheds, dock doors, and transportation elements that live within and alongside the masonry facades of the district. The lighter metal volume floats above the masonry retail base to create generous outdoor terraces related to residential amenities such as shared workspace and units at this level, contributing to the active street and plaza, as well as relating to the scale and use of the occupied rooftops that have come to be a signature feature of the historic market buildings in the adjacent blocks.

The high-rise residential tower creates a shallow courtyard to the north and has a generous program of indoor and outdoor amenities on the roof that include maker space, a morning room, as well as fitness, pet, pool and clubroom uses. The terrace is publicly accessible and provides community-oriented programming throughout the year. There are additional publicly accessible spaces on the first and second level of the building.

The project’s architectural design and detailing are a contemporary interpretation of Union Market’s gritty mercantile heritage. The façades of the building recall the geometry, materiality, and texture of the warehouses emblematic of the Union Market District, and interpret them with a creative application of modern massing, materials and articulation to create a signature new identity for this central block of the burgeoning neighborhood.

JURY COMMENTS (If applicable)

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project PDF

IMAGES (Captions and Photographer Credit)
1. The mercantile enclave’s transition toward mixed-use, transit oriented, and community responsive design drove the concept to emphasize permeability, adaptability, and sustainability across scales. Photographer: Seamus Payne
2. Caption: Union Market Residential's architectural design and detailing are a contemporary interpretation of Union Market’s gritty mercantile heritage. Photographer: Seamus Payne
3. Design for Well-being is evident through access to daylight, views, outdoor amenity spaces, and air quality strategies. Photographer: Seamus Payne
4. Design features encourage movement and outdoor engagement, including accessible rooftop amenities, shaded seating under photovoltaic canopies, and links between the residential lobby and active ground-level retail. Photographer: Seamus Payne
5. The roof above the bioretention tank is part of an amenity terrace with plantings, skylights and sitting areas turning the system into a feature and a point of reflection. Photographer: Seamus Payne
6. Union Market Residential's retail and lobby layouts accommodate flexible use, including pop-up events and locally run initiatives, reinforcing the building’s role as a neighborhood platform. Photographer: Seamus Payne
7. The building’s massing, orientation, and façade strategies are shaped by daylighting, stormwater management, and energy modeling goals; sustainability was not appended but embedded from the start. Photographer: Seamus Payne
8. The massing of the building is broken into two primary components: a masonry mass that nods to the existing historic architecture, and a floating volume clad in a dark metal, evoking the metal sheds, dock doors, and containers that live within and alongside it. Photographer: Seamus Payne