Center Block at Capitol Crossing

The privately funded Capitol Crossing Project encompasses approximately 1.9 million square feet across a seven-acre site elevated above Washington, DC’s underground I-395 highway, restoring pedestrian and vehicular links above the highway and re-connecting neighborhoods. The Center Block, designed by Ennead, consists of two distinct yet complimentary volumes: a 150-unit residential tower and 221-key boutique hotel linked by a shared podium, both of which are flanked by the development’s commercial office buildings on adjacent blocks to the North and South. The Center Block completes the development and creates a destination and hub of activity for the development.

The hotel and residential building volumes are linked by a shared podium that includes public space, retail store fronts, a grand triple height hotel lobby that welcomes guests, with connections to below grade parking and loading. The podium connects the two volumes and is composed of white polished concrete, offering a modern twist to the masonry and terrazzo material palette prevalent in the area. The glass and aluminum street fronts and bronze accents echo materials used on the hotel’s façade.

The project creates a network of public and semi-public spaces through a diverse mix of programs, such as outdoor gathering spaces, food and beverage concepts, casual meeting and lounge spaces, and open lobbies. These communal spaces provide a place for the residential tenants, hotel guests, office workers from neighboring buildings, and the surrounding community to overlap and comingle, positioning the Center Block as an active hub for the greater Capitol Crossing Development.

Located on the north end of the block, the residential volume is characterized by a gently bent massing and cantilevered eastern end—with a heroic structural pier and triple-height social space nestled beneath— which together enhance the arrival experience and invite people into the public concourse. The façade expression is divided east and west by an inflection point, with punched windows on the east side that artfully transition into ribbon windows to the west. The residential building is composed of polished concrete, glass, aluminum, and accented by wood elements.

The residential building takes advantage of occupiable balconies and includes studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units as well as fifty affordable housing units. The penthouse includes amenity space and a rooftop lounge.

Located on the south side of the block and connected to the residential tower by a north-south lobby, the jewel-box-like hotel is distinguished by a façade of a bronze-colored grid infilled with glass and aluminum windows and alternating canted textured glass panels. The playful hotel façade serves as a counterpoint to the larger-scale buildings clad of taut glass curtainwall facades and establishes the hotel as an identifiable centerpiece within the Capitol Crossing Development and the surrounding neighborhood. The hotel includes high-end amenities, such as a gym, spa, and rooftop restaurant, bar, and lounge.

Landscaped areas have been incorporated on roof terraces at various levels to offer building occupants and visitors access to fresh air, natural light, and vegetation.