Project Description
2011 RADA
Renovation / Merit
The Watergate is one of Washington’s most prestigious addresses, but its circular geometry poses interior challenges. Gutting this vintage 1960s apartment cleared the way for the organizing stroke: a V-shaped, dark plaster wall that orients the living areas toward the Potomac River. “The new framework draws attention away from the ceiling heights, some as low as 7 feet, 6 inches,” says Robert M. Gurney, FAIA. Crisp, minimalist materials—white terrazzo flooring, ash millwork, and glass walls—unify and define the spaces. “They got a lot of mileage out of the simple move of breaking the wall free,” one judge said, “and the materials are very well done.”