From Brick to Glass: An Award-Winning Boutique Office Building Renovation
Formerly known as the YMCA National Capital, a full brick community center, PCC was tasked to transform the 37-year-old building into an all-glass office structure. PCC, Whiting-Turner Contracting, Hickock Cole Architects, and Akridge Development were challenged to recycle the old building and provide a fully functioning workspace for small businesses in the heart of DC’s business district, close to the historic St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
PCC was responsible for the building envelope coordination including the custom curtainwall, structural glass entrance and all the other façade items, including the following:
- Custom filigrees
- Point supported glass canopy
- Structurally finned all glass entrance
- Punched windows
- Steel panels
- Composite metal panels
- Custom aluminum plate sunshades
- Aluminum plate cornice metal panels, and
- Factory assembled modularized copper entrance portal system
Interior work included:
- Decorative laminated glass toilet compartment doors
- Frameless mirror
- Interior glazing which includes the all glass doors, back painted glass found at the elevator lobbies, revolving door and sidelites.
By preserving many existing columns and floor slabs, the design maintains the basic structure of the current building while also surgically infilling other areas. The top floor is set back to reduce the street wall height and the primary facades incorporate varying window depths to produce shadow lines reminiscent of those found in the adjacent townhouses. Using a large bay pattern, the building can maintain maximum views from the interior. An architectural copper skin is layered over a background of clear glass and accented with metal filigree to provide contrast and definition on the street wall.
The new lobby is centrally located on the facade and features a custom metal cube suspended within the two-story space that defines the entry experience. The landscape design includes a lush street scape which accentuates the entry yet provides ample opportunity to sit and relax outdoors. A well-appointed roof top terrace with supporting club room mirrors an intimate pocket park located on the ground level.
The team overcame many issues with slab locations, and substrate. The site proved to be logistically challenging due to the downtown location constrained by higher density Central Business District and the lower density residential neighborhoods. Despite these challenges, the team met today’s rigorous energy standards by reusing the existing structure which diverted tons of material from landfills. The project successfully achieved a LEED Platinum standard.
Now built and designed with a modern aesthetic, the new stand-out 100,000 sq. ft. all glass structure has been renamed to 1701 Rhode Island and won several awards noted below.
2019 Retrofit Metamorphosis Awards – Best Adaptive Reuse
2019 NAIOP DC|MD – Best Urban Office
2019 AIA Northern Virginia, Award of Merit in Commercial Architecture
2019 Glass Magazine Awards – Best Green Project
