When the Wrapping Comes Off
5 05 2008
Remember that building we showed you on 11th and F st NW that’s all wrapped up? Well here is what it will eventually look like when the wrapper comes off, and it doesn’t look to bad!
The Development is being called Square 320 and incorporates the renovation of four historic buildings and the construction of a new 12-story concrete structure to create one cohesive building. They will all be connected by a 6 story atrium capped off by a 110-ft skylight! Hopefully there will be some type of food options where people can sit out because there is nothing like an atrium to make you feel like you are dinning outside even in the dead of winter or the swelter of a Washington summer!
It’s also nice to see that most of the older buildings interesting features are being fullly restored including the wood windows, exterior masonry, brown stone, ornamental copper, and galvanized sheet metal details. Complimenting the old with the new is the way to go in this area of town for sure and helps projects like this one fit better into the street-scape!
[Rendering: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners Architects LLP]
not bad, for a change. i’m not jumping for joy, but i’m not totally unimpressed either. i still think some of the buildings in NoMa are setting a better architectural precedent for greater dc, but hey, that’s not bad for china town.
I like this new building. I especially like the renovation of the historic buildings. But, this development is certainly not in china town.
it is in Penn Quarter, very close to whatever Chinatown is/was.