Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
Archello Awards 2026 · Enter your projects before 30 September 2026
West End 50
Alan Karchmer

West End 50

The project’s location in the heart of the West End neighborhood of Washington DC, is located at the prominent northeast corner of M Street and 23rd Street. The base of the building is proudly pronounced on M Street with a perforated corrugated metal-clad red box of the apparatus bay.


The main public spaces are located in a two-story glass box along 23rd Street. The use of light materials of metal and glass convey openness and agility. Posturing above this box, is a rectangular volume encompassing the two-story squash club that recedes on M street and cantilevers on 23rd street.


By pulling back the mass of the squash club on M Street, a public terrace is created providing a framed view of M street and enlivening the existing street activity. Perched above these volumes is a block of affordable residential housing. Built of a simple window wall system, with expanded metal mesh screens, the materials are modest, but provide ample light and views for the residents.

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