BOXED UP AND READY TO GO
The award-winning project, located in Washington’s West End neighborhood, is officially called the Square 50 project. TEN Arquitectos & WDG Architecture were tasked with designing DC’s new West End fire station, along with a 52 affordable dwelling units and a commercial space intended for competitive squash tournaments.
Completed in 2017, the LEED silver certificated Square 50 building has received a number of design awards and accolades, including the AIA DC Merit Award in Architecture.
The building’s exterior design exuberantly expresses the project’s three uses through its stacking of rectangular masses and changes in material, colors and window patterns. Although the design can appear at first glance to consist of three boxes, a closer look shows that the fire station is a combination of two rectangular masses and that the apartment block sits on a pedestal that separates it from the squash court section, making for a total of five major rectangular forms. The interplay between all these boxes creates a variety of setbacks and projections.
The Swisspearl Largo Carat Onyx panels in combination with the broad expanses of metal panels and glass below, form a harmonious unit in the 23rd & M Street of DC’s West End.
NICE TO KNOW
Object
Square 50
LocationArchitects
WDG Architecture, Washington, DC, USA
Ten Arquitectos, New York, NY, USA
Photos
Brycen Fischer, Baltimore, MD, USA
Awards
AIA DC Merit Award in Architecture
ABC of Metro Washington – Excellence in Construction Award
ENR Mid Atlantic – Award of Merit, Mixed-Use
NAIOP Maryland/DC Chapter – Award for Excellence, Best Multi-Family
Associated General Contractors of America (DC) – Washington Contractor Award, Multi-Family/Mixed Use/Hospitality
Building period
2017
Façade material
Swisspearl Largo Carat Onyx 7099
PDF project sheet
Click here to download the project sheet
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