SK+I Architecture Muse

Set on a triangular site with the hypotenuse running along the Mount Vernon Trail, the project includes two levels of below-grade parking and a First Floor that occupy the majority of the site. The First Floor consists of a mild-reinforced concrete two-way slab with a framed exterior “Arts Walk” terrace that separates the 3-story mixed-use building at the southwest corner of the site from the 8-story residential tower along the Mount Vernon Trail. Six transfer girders were designed to support columns that were relocated above the First Floor to accommodate the drive aisle for the below-grade garage levels. The typical floors and Main Roof were designed as two-way post-tensioned concrete slabs, with the Main Roof also serving as a transfer slab supporting top-story columns that did not align with columns below, as well as an amenity-focused rooftop terrace with green roof areas. Large green roof terraces were incorporated at the Fifth Floor to accommodate required façade setbacks along 3rd Street and North Royal Street. Approximately twenty sloping columns and fourteen rotated columns were incorporated throughout the building to meet the architectural program requirements. The building is supported on traditional spread foundations, with a lateral system consisting of reinforced concrete shear walls at the central elevator shaft and egress stairs. A structural steel framed pedestrian bridge was designed to span over the “Arts Walk” to connect the Second Floor of the 3-story mixed-use building to the main 8-story residential tower, with special connections and expansion joints designed to allow for differential movement between the two buildings. The façade consists of a mixture of storefront glazing, brick, and a Quest window wall system.

This project received the NAIOP Northern Virginia Award of Excellence.