Views of Nationals Park at Half and N Street
JULY 2016
Half and N Street, Washington D.C.
Just five blocks south of the U.S. Capitol and with easy access to the waterfront, downtown, and Nationals Park, the Navy Yard neighborhood is on track to become one of DC’s most densely populated regions (Washington Post article here).
At the entrance to Nationals Park is one of MV+A’s latest collaborations, Half and N Street, developed by Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners with Hord Coplan Macht as the architect of record. Due to our extensive experience in urban retail design, MV+A was selected for this uniquely situated project that has to cater to both game day traffic as well as everyday urban conditions.
Street-level retail with 300+ residential units set above establishes a population for year-round use of the development, which will combine with traffic from neighboring buildings and the new residents of 10 apartment buildings currently under construction in the Navy Yard neighborhood.
Curb-less streets and wide corridors create a seamless flow for stadium foot traffic and an active interface between the pedestrian experience, the street edge, and the buildings themselves.
The two-story retail corner of Half and N streets takes a cue from theater design: operable storefronts, recessed facades, and a mixture of street level and balcony dining areas will provide patrons with a variety of ways to experience game day festivities, as well as everyday scenes characteristic of city life.
Additional details establish the art of urban placemaking: uninterrupted retail storefronts down both Half and N streets develop an inviting street edge, while projecting facades at the second level bring attention to second story retail and maintain privacy for residences above. Carefully placed plaza-like spaces all along the project edge act as spill-out zones, extending retail energy from the building with the streets.This consequential interaction between the building and the street is what makes retail design in such great urban areas all the more powerful.
Half and N Street adheres to an essential retail design principle – how buildings hit the street is what always enlivens a building and keeps the building in conversation with its context. An open and dynamic project, Half and N Street will play a central role in shaping the quality of this neighborhood as it grows.
Staff Profile: Neville Fernandes, AIA
Neville Fernandes AIA, LEED AP leads the design efforts on several urban mixed-use projects, including Half and N Street, 965 Florida Ave, and Broad & Washington.
On exploring:
“I think expanding your horizons is very important. Travelling and savoring cultural insights reminds me that there is no singular way in which one has to view life, but instead to keep looking for interesting possibilities that present themselves from time to time.”
On becoming an architect:
“I grew up in India where it is very common for students to live with their parents while attending university. One benefit was watching my elder sister go through architecture school. Seeing her final year design dissertation, it dawned on me that Architecture was this amazing opportunity to positively impact and shape day-to-day lives.”
Update: 4735 Bethesda
4735 Bethesda is nearing completion of the building’s core and exterior shell. A unique retail/restaurant destination located at the intersection of Bethesda and Woodmont Avenues, 4735 Bethesda is the retail anchor of a larger redevelopment project on the block and provides a dynamic streetscape façade along the Georgetown Branch Trail. Working in collaboration with renowned architectural firm Morris Adjmi of NYC, MV+A has created a specialized façade of architecturally exposed structural steel and glass to create an iconic building form with a personal scale.
