01. Understanding the History
02. Design Process 03. Site Strategy 04. Design Solution 05. Animation |
UNDERSTANDING THE HISTORY At SOTO, it is very important to us that we utilize the site's surrounding context to drive our design inspirations. This particular proposal was for a large multi-use design that is located in the heart of D.C. As a result of this, driving factors in our design included the historical nature of the district, as well as the large population of people who will be cycling through the center daily. We wanted to ensure that our design fit the needs of the public ... SITE: 2000 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20002
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DESIGN PROCESS
01. Understanding the History
02. Design Process 03. Site Strategy 04. Design Solution 05. Animation |
After researching and learning as much about the community as we could about their past, as well as their feelings right now, their needs and wants. It was time to start brainstorming. Through a series of hand drawings that led OUR CONNECTION
It just so happens that we are very familiar with this site, as it is about a block away from our firm's office. The prospect of being able to work on a project within our own neighborhood sparked excitement from everyone in the office. We were passionate about the opportunity to create a design that could benefit the neighborhood. Everyone was eager to participate and share their ideas on how we could design a space that could improve the quality of life and functionality of our very own neighborhood. This enthusiasm drove our design process to include vast experimentation and discussion to ensure we were making the most of this site and its liveliness. |
SITE STRATEGY
01. Understanding the History
02. Design Process 03. Site Strategy 04. Design Solution 05. Animation |
SITE STRATEGY By far, most of the time was spent developing the ideas about place making. Understanding this site's significance to the public realm was crucial to our process. We wanted to make the best of this site and its liveliness. We worked hard to create public exterior spaces that felt welcoming, as well as connected to the surrounding environments. We strived to ensure that the spaces were sized appropriately to be inviting, and that each public zone felt connected physically and visually. As a team, we felt that this project should be diverse and dynamic in appearance. That each building had its distinct character, which we feel created a lively, interesting and unique experience. We partnered with Moya architects who worked on the facades of the new proposed Reeves Center and the Moxy hotel. We believed that working alongside other firms reinforced our goal of creating spaces that feel authentic, despite their cohesive nature. Another important point is that by breaking up and diversifying the building shapes and facades, it breaks up the scale of the project. Even though it is one large project, it will have the feeling of multiple teams and multiple projects that all contribute to one seamless experience. In addition to studying the shapes of the spaces, we explored ways to activate each space and passage to maximize positive and productive activities. Such strategies help create spaces that are more active and safer. In order to achieve this we used 3D digital modeling during the entire process, which allowed for continuous interrogation of the quality of those spaces. ZONING
Working alongside ... HONORING THE PAST AND ENVISIONING THE FUTURE DETAILING
It was important to us that we not only consider large scale items, but also focus on details that emphasize the strong ties this community has to its history. We decided the first step was that we needed to define our intention. We wanted to honor the past, while also paving way for the future. We incorporated various elements, structures and areas that serve as beautiful callouts to the site's past. |
DESIGN SOLUTION
01. Understanding the History 02. Iterative Process 03. Site Strategy 04. Design Solution 05. Animation |
The final design solution was an accumulation of all of our research, brainstorming, experimentation and SITE PLAN
This plan shows SITE AXONS
Each of these DETAILED SITE PLAN
RENDERINGS
Taking into consideration key areas and details that we wanted to showcase, we were able to create a series of high quality renderings that were able to capture each of these significant moments. Each of these images are captioned to give an idea of where you are located as you are viewing. |
01. Understanding the History
02. Iterative Process 03. Site Strategy 04. Design Solution 05. Animation |
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THE FINAL SUBMISSION PUTS HEALING, BIOPHILIC ARCHITECTURE TO THE FOREFRONT WITH THE USERS AND STAFF OF THE BUILDING AT THE HIGHEST PRIORITY. IT ALSO DOES NOT NEGLECT ANY OF THE NEEDS THE CITY MAY HAVE. IT CREATES A NEW IDENTITY FOR THE IVY CITY NEIGHBORHOOD, A BILLBOARD OF HOPE ALONG NEW YORK AVENUE. WE HAD A LOT OF FUN WITH THIS RFP DESIGN PROPOSAL AND LOOK FORWARD TO ENGAGING WITH DGS/DHS IN THE FUTURE. WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE DESIGN OF THIS SITE AND HOPE THAT THE FINAL SELECTION WILL CREATE A SPACE THAT NURTURES AND CARES FOR OUR HOMELESS NEIGHBORS.
PROJECT TEAM:
FERNANDO BONILLA VERDESOTO, AIA
JOSEPH IWASKIW, AIA
JOSE VELEZ
PEDRO CAMARGO
KYLE HUCK, AIA
WANT A CREATIVE DESIGN SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROJECT? EMAIL US AT THE LINK BELOW OR SEND US A MESSAGE ON LINKED-IN OR INSTAGRAM.
PROJECT TEAM:
FERNANDO BONILLA VERDESOTO, AIA
JOSEPH IWASKIW, AIA
JOSE VELEZ
PEDRO CAMARGO
KYLE HUCK, AIA
WANT A CREATIVE DESIGN SOLUTION FOR YOUR PROJECT? EMAIL US AT THE LINK BELOW OR SEND US A MESSAGE ON LINKED-IN OR INSTAGRAM.