10th and G Street Offices Construction Watch Tour

On Saturday, the National Building Museum hosted a Construction Watch Tour of our mixed-use 10th & G Street project located in downtown Washington, DC. Led by Michael Day, AIA, LEED-AP, Associate, and Chris Morrison, AIA, LEED-AP, Principal, of Cunningham | Quill Architects, nearly 40 participants got a firsthand look at the project, which contains retail, Class A office space, and the First Congregational United Church of Christ (FCUCC).

At the tour, an FCUCC representative, Barbara Brown Zikmund said "We wanted to be a green building. We were committed to that from the beginning." The building is on track for LEED Gold Certification.

See the tour in pictures.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: Mount Rainier Mixed-Use Town Center Development Plan (Week 15)

Located at the northeast entrance to Washington, DC, the City of Mount Rainier, MD was interested in improving its urban environment. In an effort to develop a new community-supported vision for the City that was founded on current and projected economic and market analysis, the CQA team (Bolan Smart, Gorove/Slade, R. McGhee & Associates, and Urban Advantage) designed the Mount Rainier Mixed-Use Town Center Development Plan. The Plan looks back to the city’s history as a successful mixed-use neighborhood, using a fine-grained approach, preserving buildings and inserting new infill structures.

Rendering of Rhode Island Avenue

The design process began with multiple site tours, interviews, and stakeholder meetings. A series of charrettes and community meetings were held throughout the process to ensure public participation and involvement.

Community Workshop & Charrette Session

Envisioning the area as a vital, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use town center with a special focus on the city’s artistic, historic, and environmental traditions, the final development plan includes implementation strategies, draft form-based code development/design guidelines, and transportation, land use, and sustainable infrastructure recommendations.

The Mount Rainier Mixed-Use Town Center Development Plan has received strong city, county and community support. Serving as an example of how historic neighborhoods can overcome past disinvestment and plan for a brighter future, the plan is currently being adopted as a prototype for other historic town centers in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

Illustrative Plan

The Mount Rainier Mixed-Use Town Center plan has received two AIA Awards for its excellence in Master Planning and Urban Design, and has also been featured in Urban Land Magazine.

10th and G Street Offices Construction Watch Tour with the National Building Museum

10th & G Street Offices Under Construction

On Saturday, June 25, 2011, the National Building Museum will be hosting a Construction Watch Tour of Cunningham | Quill Architects’ 10^th & G Street Offices and First Congregational United Church of Christ. The 188,000 sf building, located in downtown Washington, DC, is a dynamic mixed-use project consisting of office, retail, and church worship space. The project, immediately adjacent to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library and across from CQA’s Mather Building, is expected to achieve LEED Gold Certification.

National Building Museum Construction Watch Tours typically emphasize special construction methods and innovative technologies used in the building process, whether with Historic Preservation projects or cutting-edge sustainable projects. According to the NBM website, "Because the tours are led by developers, architects, and contractors, they offer direct access to key figures who are shaping our built environment.”

Cunningham | Quill Architects Associate, Michael Day, AIA, LEED-AP, will lead the tour on Saturday, June 25. For more information on the National Building Museum’s Construction Watch Tour of 10th & G Street Offices, or to purchase tickets, please visit the National Building Museum. For more information on 10th & G Street Offices, please visit Cunningham | Quill Architects.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: Northern Neck House (Week 14)

Front Elevation with Screened Porch

The Northern Neck House is located in Westmoreland County, Virginia, overlooking a quiet inlet of the Potomac River. To create a connection to the waterfront and its wooded surroundings, the design of the house utilizes glass, screened walls, and wood panels that provide privacy for the clients. A screened porch serves as an outdoor gathering space with views of the entire site.

Screened Porch

Open Guest Rooms with View

The two-story house creates an open living arrangement for two, while flexible enough to accommodate several guests comfortably. A large hallway and over sized door openings allow the first floor to function as a large open suite, while telescoping pocket doors on the first and second floors can be closed to create additional guest rooms.

Rear Waterfront Elevation

The wooded two-acre lot dealt with several challenges including site access, topography, existing wetlands, and working with the Chesapeake Bay Act guidelines for setbacks and environmental protection. To minimize environmental impact and maximize energy efficiency, the house was oriented as a result of solar and wind analyses. In addition, design elements such as deep overhangs and passive ventilation were used to create an energy efficient structure.

Mother & Child Wins Its Sixth AIA Award

Ralph Cunningham, FAIA and Sarah Shipp, AIA with Scott Matties, AIA, LEED-AP.

Cunningham | Quill Architects attended the AIA Northern Virginia Design Awards Gala last Saturday night at the Founder's Hall building on the George Mason University campus in Arlington, Virginia. Emceed by one of our Principals, Mr. Scott Matties, AIA, LEED-AP, the evening's event was filled with tastings of local wines paired with food from Lyon Hall. At the end of the night, CQA received its sixth AIA Award for Mother & Child. The Merit Award honors excellence in Historic Architecture. For more information on Mother & Child, please visit Cunningham | Quill Architects.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: The Clayborne (Week 13)

Located at the gateway entry to the City of Alexandria in the south end of the historic district, this mixed-use residential and retail project completes the master plan for an existing retail center.

The Clayborne, in the background, completes a Mixed-Use Neighborhood.

The building occupies the west half of a city block, and was created as a series of discrete structures with varying treatment of mass, scale and architectural detail. Inspired by the urban fabric of Old Town and neighboring garden apartment typologies, a center four-story manor house is flanked by three-story townhouse buildings with porches and intimate garden courtyards to maintain the scale and articulation of the adjacent residential streetscapes.

Varying mass, details, and entry ways break up the visual scale of the building.

The building includes 74 apartment units and 2,400 sf of ground floor retail. The varied design of this project retains the retail and restaurant presence of the neighborhood.

New retail space and apartments above merges with the residential side.

Cohen Career Center Takes the Gold

The Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Center at the College of William & Mary is officially LEED Gold Certified. Certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED program recognizes the Cohen Career Center as a sustainable addition to the William & Mary campus in Williamsburg, Virginia.

View of the "Living Room" and Student Plaza and Amphitheatre at Night.

To earn LEED Gold certification, The Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Career Center had to meet specific performance measurements in environmental and human health, sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection and indoor quality.

For more information on the U.S. Green Building Council or the LEED Certification Program, visit the USGBC website. To learn more about the Sherman and Gloria H. Cohen Career Center at the College of William & Mary, please visit Cunningham | Quill Architects.

15 Projects in 15 Weeks: The Alta (Week 12)

The Alta facing towards Thomas Circle in Washington, DC

The Alta is located in downtown Washington, DC on 14th Street in the exciting neighborhood of Thomas Circle. The 13-story, concrete frame high-rise building has ground floor retail, 126 residential units on 12 floors, and four levels of below-grade parking.

Living Room

This residential tower is distinguished by its modern finishes. Landscaped terraces on the rooftop and second floor serve double-duty as “green roofs” and community amenities for residents, while expansive windows, exposed ductwork and tile floors create a spacious and clean environment within the heart of Washington, DC.

Second Floor Community Room and Green Roof Terrace

The Alta was the first LEED Certified multi-family condominium building in the District of Columbia. It has since been recognized with multiple American Institute of Architect awards. The Alta has been published in Urban Spaces and Architecture DC.