Office Space
Fifteen years of neglect took a devastating a toll on Gramax. “The building was frightening,” says Alan Meyers, president of A.R. Meyers + Associates, a Silver Spring, Md.-based architecture firm that redesigned the project. “As you got to the upper reaches of it, there was enough pigeon [droppings] to make you sick.”
The construction team had no choice but to gut the 1950s building, leaving only the exterior skin, columns, and floor slabs. The team considered replacing the building”s skin–a deteriorated brick-on-block façade–but the expense was too costly. Instead, the façade was “rebuilt” using 7,500 anchors to pin back the brick. “The skin was the biggest undertaking,” says Meyers.
Vertical and horizontal expansive joints were installed, and deteriorated bricks were replaced. To add a modern appeal, a long-lasting coating was applied to the façade, updating the dark brown bricks to a lighter beige color. Plus, the architect added window bays and bump-outs for texture and visual interest, increasing the percentage of exterior glass and windows by 20 percent. “It [the building”s exterior] was very flat and boring,” says Copeland. “We really changed it dramatically.”
Inside, the construction team added 2,000 core openings in the floors to run wiring and mechanical systems into each apartment. The team innovatively worked around the antiquated 20-foot-by-20-foot column spacing, which resulted in a unique apartment layout for each floor. “Looking at the interior, you”d never imagine it was anything but an apartment house,” says Meyers. “That”s a compliment to the design and construction of the building.”
The studio and one- and two-bedroom units feature upscale amenities such as washers and dryers, floor-to-ceiling windows with skyline views of downtown Washington and Rock Creek Park, and open kitchen floor plans. The building, located in a state-designated arts and entertainment area, is connected to a local art gallery. RST donated the gallery–just one more way the company is helping bring new life to the area.