DC Metrocentric

Everyone has an opinion on architecture, what’s yours?

By Spencer Lepler

Artomatic ends this Sunday, July 5, 2009. If you haven’t been yet, go. It is a rare chance to see scores of artists from all over the metro area in one place and at one time for free, and its also an amazing architectural experience.

The new high rise office building that houses Artomatic, designed by Davis Carter Scott, is a shell without any tenant fit outs, which would normally be an unusual situation but since this past fall has become an increasingly common sight as the recession to slows and stalls growth within our city. The area of Navy Yard has been hit especially hard, with many of the projects having been put on hold or cancelled due to lack of financial support and potential commercial tenants. 55 M Street SE is in the heart of the Navy Yard development right above the metro station and at first glance seems unaffected by the economic slowdown.

When you enter the building from M Street at first glance it seems as if you are in a normal high end office building. The lobby is fully finished with white ceramic tile with stainless steel flush reveals and frosted glass accents. Yet there are small signs even here that something is amiss. The entry doors are missing handles on the inside, and there are no signs for any tenants. Yet, this is easy to miss on your way through the lobby to the elevators, whose tile floors and stainless steel accents are still gleaming. Once the elevator doors open you on any of the second through ninth floors you instantly understand that this building is completely empty. You step out of the elevator on to raw concrete subfloors and gaze at unpainted wall board, exposed ductwork and bare curtain-wall windows.

All the public amenities, e.g. the bathrooms and the ground floor lobby, have been finished and are ready for use, but the rest of the building is barren. This half finished nature feels as if society has crumbled before the building could be inhabited and instead it has been taken over by an artist collective who somehow has the money to keep the power, water and HVAC systems all turned on.

Most people never get to see the inside of a building after the shell has been completed but before the floors are occupied, this is a unique opportunity for the public to better understand how office buildings are developed. Many architects and designers never detail the inside of the office suites, and instead leave them to future interior designers to develop. In addition, this gives many people a chance to fully understand the materiality and structure of the building without having veneer materials in place which can easily confuse someone what is a structural element and what is decorative.

This stark palette not only makes a great backdrop for the art thats exhibited here, but it also creates a unique experience for the inhabitants. Each floor of the building is essentially the same in appearance; there are changes in the floor plan such as additional terraces or protrusions, but without a set of plan drawings it is hard to understand these changes. As you wind your way down form the top, or up from the bottom, at times you can forget where you are and get lost in the installation because there is no architectural background to distract you. The only distractions and sense of movement come from the spectacular views through the exterior curtain wall. The view over the neighboring construction pit to the South through the centerfield fence and into the new Nationals Stadium is one to be savored, as is the panoramic view of all of South West Waterfront to the West. The view to the North of the building is one of the more dynamic and unique sights, the South side of the US Capitol set against the Southeast Southwest freeway and the government power-plant. It is a dynamic portrait of government, transportation, and utilities. All of these views should be appreciated because they really anchor the building in the context of DC and unfortunately may not be visible in the near future. Much of the proposed developments will block all or parts of these vistas if they are built as planned, which right now seems doubtful. Hopefully, no matter what is built you will still be able to see the capitol dome and be able to understand 55 M Street SE’s place in the city’s geography.

The stark nature of this building coupled with its location in the new partially constructed boomtown of Navy Yard really help create an identity for this year’s Artomatic. From the ninth floor, the recession is fully visible and understood. Planned building sites sit empty and waiting, as does the shell from which you gaze. I have to wonder if this is not intention and thus makes the entire event into month long piece of performance art about the nature of our society? In addition, I am eager to see next year’s iteration, in hopes that we might taste a bit of economic recover in its architecture.

[Photo: Mr. T in DC]

Spencer Lepler is an architectural designer nearing the end of the architecture licensing process. He has lived in the DC metro area since 2005. He posts on a semi-regular basis to his blog – selophane.com. In addition to blogging he is currently engaged in pursuing freelance design work.