In Washington D.C., a new condo building is slated to go up alongside a historic church—and incorporate the church into its design.
Sorg Architects unveiled a design scheme for 40 condos in a six-story building, which will wrap around the church. The church itself is designated a historic site. Four residential units will be built within, one for each floor. Sorg has already done extensive renovations and structural work on the church, given that it acquired the structure in 2006 and has been planning this condo building ever since. (In 2006, the firm presented a similar design to the Historic Presentation Review Board, but the project was shelved during the recession.)
Sorg presented the design for the project on Monday January 27, and it was approved by the Advisory Neighborhood Committee 1B, along with two zoning variances. However, a committee member objected to the design, comparing it to other generic-looking condo buildings in the D.C. area.
Sorg Architects principal Suman Sorg responded that the core of the complex’s design is dictated by the church, and that the finished project would likely look very different from the presented rendering.
“The materiality of this building will be very different,” said said, according to Urban Turf. “Since the basic structure is sort of prescribed, we feel we can accentuate (the architecture) with the material choices.”
The two zoning variances the firm is pursuing involve the rear setback of the building and the lot occupancy, which in the current plan is 10 percent higher than dictated.
Related Stories
| Feb 23, 2011
Call for Entries: 2011 Building Team Awards, Deadline: March 25, 2011
The 14th Annual Building Team Awards recognizes newly built projects that exhibit architectural and construction excellence—and best exemplify the collaboration of the Building Team, including the owner, architect, engineer, and contractor.
| Feb 23, 2011
The library is dead, long live the library
The Society for College and University Planning asked its members to voice their thoughts on the possible death of academic libraries. And many did. The good news? It's not all bad news. A summary of their members' comments appears on the SCUP blog.
| Feb 23, 2011
Data center trends: green design, technology upgrades
While green data centers will continue to be a trend within the industry, technology is also driving infrastructure upgrades that have never been seen before, according to the 2011 Data Center Technical Market Report from Environmental Systems Design. The report also includes an overview of the national data center market, construction costs, blackouts and disaster prevention, and site selection.
| Feb 23, 2011
“School of Tomorrow” student design competition winners selected
The American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS) and Kawneer Company, Inc. announced the winners of the “Schools of Tomorrow” student design competition. The Kawneer-sponsored competition, now in its fifth year, challenged students to learn about building materials, specifically architectural aluminum building products and systems in the design of a modern and creative school for students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. Ball State University’s Susan Butts was awarded first place and $2,500 for “Propel Elementary School.”
| Feb 23, 2011
Barbie's newest career: Architect
Mattel is introducing Architect Barbie this fall, following a campaign that started in 2002 to give the iconic blond a design job. The doll comes in a signature pink outfit, but if she's truly hoping to pass an an architect, shouldn't she be wearing all black?
| Feb 23, 2011
Green building on the chopping block in House spending measure
Bryan Howard, Legislative Director of the U.S. Green Building Council, blogs about proposed GOP budget cuts that could impact green building in the commercial sector.
| Feb 23, 2011
Architecture Billings hold steady after two months of improving conditions
After showing positive momentum during the fourth quarter of 2010, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) slipped almost four points in January. The January ABI score was 50.0, which is down from a reading of 53.9 the previous month, but still reflects stable demand for design services. Any score above 50 indicates an increase in billings.
| Feb 22, 2011
LEED Volume Program celebrates its 500th certified Pilot Project
More than 500 building projects have certified through the LEED Volume Program since the pilot launched in 2006, according to the U.S. Green Building Council. The LEED Volume Program streamlines the certification process for high-volume property owners and managers, from commercial real estate firms, national retailers and hospitality providers, to local, state and federal governments.
| Feb 22, 2011
HDR Architecture names four healthcare directors
Four senior professionals in HDR Architecture’s healthcare program have been named Healthcare directors.