Construction was recently completed on The Retail Village at Sycamore & Oak, a 22,000-sf building that will serve as a business incubator for entrepreneurs, including emerging black businesses, in Washington, D.C. The facility, designed by Sir David Adjaye, the architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is expected to attract retail and food concepts that originated in the community.
The building, located in Congress Heights, which has a 38% poverty level—more than double the District’s average rate, will provide a venue for job creation in the economically disadvantaged neighborhood. Michelin star chef and humanitarian Jose Andres will mentor Retail Village restaurant owners. The project was partly conceptualized and will be fully managed by members of the Congress Heights community.
The structure was constructed with Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified, sustainably harvested mass timber. The entire structure, built using screws instead of nails, can be taken apart and reused.
A plinth is used as a focal point for gathering and creates a viewing deck into the multiple programs held in the education centers, as well as for retail incubators, outdoor dining spaces, and a performance pavilion. The structure is open-air with a canopy that offers protection from the elements and cultivates a sense of intimacy or ‘community within community’ when visitors gather underneath.
An environmental canopy collects rainwater and generates electricity from photovoltaic panels. An all-electric building, Sycamore & Oak will demonstrate the efficiency and effectiveness of solar energy, battery storage, heat pumps, and induction cooking, according to a news release. Some of the furniture used locally sourced wood from recovered street trees.
The project, scheduled to open the public on June 14, has already won an award from the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment for demonstrating equity and inclusion in sustainable construction.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: STE15 LLC, a joint venture of the Emerson Collective and Redbrick LMD
Design architect: Sir David Adjaye, Adjaye Associates
Architect of record: Winstanley Associates
MEP engineer: CSCE
Structural engineer: Structurecraft
General contractor/construction manager: Banneker Communities
Related Stories
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, URS, and Wiss, Janney, Elstner top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction engineering and engineering/architecture firms in the U.S.
| Jul 28, 2014
Reconstruction Sector Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Stantec, HDR, and HOK top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest reconstruction architecture and architecture/engineering firms in the U.S.
| Jul 25, 2014
Grocery stores choosing Green Globes for building sustainability certification
The Green Building Initiative (GBI) has announced a wave of Green Globes certifications for new grocery stores, including New Seasons Markets, Whole Foods, Price Chopper, Aldi’s, Harris Teeter, Wegmans, and Publix.
| Jul 23, 2014
Architecture Billings Index up nearly a point in June
AIA reported the June ABI score was 53.5, up from a mark of 52.6 in May.
| Jul 21, 2014
Economists ponder uneven recovery, weigh benefits of big infrastructure [2014 Giants 300 Report]
According to expert forecasters, multifamily projects, the Panama Canal expansion, and the petroleum industry’s “shale gale” could be saving graces for commercial AEC firms seeking growth opportunities in an economy that’s provided its share of recent disappointments.
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
