'First of its kind' mass timber office extension completed in Washington DC

2022-10-13T13:11:00-04:00

Work has been completed on the 80 M office building in Washington DC. The project, which saw a three-story timber extension added atop an existing seven-story concrete building, is described by the design team as “the first commercial office building in Washington DC to feature a vertical extension constructed using mass timber.”

The 108,000-square-foot addition was designed by architects Hickok Cole with Arup providing mass timber and sustainable building engineering services. Opened in September, the scheme is also the “first high-rise overbuild timber structure in North America” according to the team.

Inside, the extension includes office and amenity spaces with 15-foot-high ceilings and 12-foot-high windows as well as 4,000 square feet of outdoor amenities including a rooftop terrace.

Photo by Ron Blunt for Columbia Property Trust

According to Arup, the scheme’s realization required engagement with “restrictive code requirements” in the United States pertaining to mass timber; ...

Valerio Olgiati offers an alternative to Harvard GSD expansion

2019-06-07T18:10:00-04:00

This article has been updated from the original version, making it more clear that this is an alternative proposal to the winning proposal by H&dM.

Though Herzog and de Meuron recently made clear that they have won the bid to expand the Harvard Graduate School of Design, the design competition entry offered by Valerio Olgiati provides an alluring alternative to what things could have been.

View this post on Instagram _ Harvard GSD Gund Hall Expansion, Cambridge #valerioolgiati #harvardgsd
A post shared by VALERIO OLGIATI (@valerioolgiati) on Jun 7, 2019 at 12:05am PDT
View this post on Instagram _ Harvard GSD Gund Hall Expansion, Cambridge #valerioolgiati #harvardgsd
A post shared by VALERIO OLGIATI (@valerioolgiati) on Jun 6, 2019 at 2:03am PDT

His studio's Instagram recently uploaded three renders of the alternative design, including one featuring a triangular-shaped addition to the school's main building, designed by John Andrews and completed ...

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'First of its kind' mass timber office extension completed in Washington DC

Valerio Olgiati offers an alternative to Harvard GSD expansion