Hickok Cole has made a name for itself as an international architectural practice specializing in future-focused solutions.

It adopted just such a mentality when turning an existing YMCA building at 1701 Rhode Island in north west Washington D.C. into a seven-floor office building on the edge of the Central Business District.

This location effectively makes the building a bustling hub on the convergence between a lower density residential neighborhood and the higher density CBD. The design team worked with the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission and the city’s historical conservation experts to produce a façade that is distinctive, but also pays homage to the nearby copper dome of
St. Matthew’s Cathedral.

The load bearing structure, most of the columns and floor slabs were kept from the old building. This sense of conserving the past also extended to the old façades, but these were given a contemporary overhaul that nonetheless manages to forge perfect harmony with the past. Large floor-to-ceiling windows adorn the elevations and create a transparent backdrop for the dynamic metal skin of custom-made TECU^® Classic shingles by KME Italy. These rather unique rhomboid shingles are made from TECU^® Classic
hand-burnished copper, giving the building the more modern feel that is ideal for the small and medium businesses that will find an ideal home in these elegant offices in this well-located district.

To protect this external copper cladding a protective transparent anti-oxidizing
nano-coat was applied to keep the
look of the burnished copper even when exposed to the elements.

1701 Rhode Island is awaiting its LEED Platinum certification and it is the first office block in the city to use a use a mechanical air conditioning system with a variable refrigerant flow system.

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