15 Projects in 15 Weeks: Glass Bridge (Week 6)

Located on a rolling two-acre site, this rambler had been remodeled and enlarged five times in its forty-year life. The owners wished to resolve awkward floor plan, while adding two new bedrooms for their children, a new Master Suite, an office, a recreation room, and an updated kitchen. An existing Music Room and award-winning cabana were to be retained.

Glass Bridge at Dusk with Exterior Courtyard.

To bridge these new elements with the original house, we extruded the original roof form over the new volumes. The Music Room was extended to create the new office and receive the roof. A new interior gallery is the core of the plan and provides ample display space for the owners’ extensive art collection. The new bedrooms are arranged around the gallery and an exterior courtyard that allows light and air into the interior. A glass block enclosed spiral stair bridges the volumes and connects the main floor with the basement.

Gallery Space that connects Bedrooms.

In 2002, the Glass Bridge received a Renaissance Award from Remodeling Magazine; and in 2003, it received a Renovation Award from Residential Architect.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: Park Hill Condominium (Week 5)

Located in Upper Northwest, Washington, DC along Connecticut Avenue, this condominium building brings a modern architectural vocabulary to an established neighborhood.

Park Hill at Dusk

Responding to the masonry apartment buildings that form the street wall along Connecticut Avenue, Park Hill’s two brick and cast stone “bookends” anchor the building. A metal and glass facade rises eight stories between these bookends, culminating in a collection of forms that comprise the penthouse, a lantern-like volume that offers commanding views of Downtown Washington, DC.

Typical Unit Interior

The building’s graduated massing preserves the streetscape, while creating twenty-nine luxury condominium units, whose free-flowing interiors and modern elements introduce a new typology of urban living.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: Potomac Yard Master Plan (Week 4)

Potomac Yard in Alexandria, VA was abandoned for more than ten years, while unsuccessful efforts were made to plan the former railroad switching yard. In 1998, the property’s new owner selected Cunningham | Quill Architects to spearhead an interactive community design process.

Alexandria Portion of Potomac Yard Master Plan  |  Alexandria, VA

CQA led an interdisciplinary team in developing a master plan that achieved a new vision for Potomac Yard. After 20 community outreach meetings held over 16 months, the team gained consensus on a new master plan. The success of uniting the community led to a unanimous vote of approval by the City of Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council on the Potomac Yard Master Plan. The Potomac Yard Process provides a framework of engagement built on effective communication with the community.

Lee Quill leading one of the community outreach meetings that led to the plan's success.

The new infill plan created 5 compact, mixed-use and pedestrian-focused neighborhoods and town center focused on transit stops.  A connected open space system links a network of smaller neighborhood and new larger city-wide parks throughout the plan, which locates residents within a 5-minute walk of any major park. Informed by the historic street and grid patterns of the adjacent Old Town and Del Ray neighborhoods, the street and block pattern provides neighborhood-serving retail and a major town center at the north end of the site. Higher density commercial and residential buildings are located near existing and potential transit stops, while taller buildings are placed along major street corridors and within the town center.

Rendering of Residential Street in Potomac Yard

The Potomac Yard process received extensive recognition as a model for engaging communities. It was the subject of one of the first EPA Smart Growth Speaker Series lectures at the National Building Museum, and it has been written about in numerous publications including Planning Magazine, Urban Land and Inform Magazine.