Brooks + Scarpa has proposed an adaptive reuse renovation of the Marcel Breuer-designed Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in Washington, D.C. in an effort to address the chronic issue of empty office space plaguing the city’s economic growth and downtown core.

The proposal is included in a new exhibition at the Southern Utah Museum of Art that examines Brutalism’s past and future potential through seven key structures and Metro station designs. The exhibition includes Diller Scofidio + Renfro's scrapped 'Bubble' reimagining of the Hirshhorn Museum and other schemes from Gensler and students from the UNLV School of Architecture. 

The inclusion of the 55-year-old Weaver Building is significant as it is the headquarters of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which wants to position itself in line with industry pushes to build a “just and equitable future for all citizens.”

After the proposed renovation, 45% of the building would be made into affordable housing. A 40% reduction in its energy use is achieved through the project, which creates 350 new apartment units while reducing the overall footprint of the office component and instilling new modern amenities arranged vertically throughout. The aging central core of the structure will be replaced with a healthy spine-like courtyard garden that stitches together both wings while further enhancing the lives of residents and workers.

The proposal could set an important precedent as the city wrestles with occupancy rates which have this year fluctuated between just 10% and 50% in the local market. Similar adaptive reuse projects like the transformation of the Newseum into space for Johns Hopkins University by Ennead, Rockwell Group, and SmithGroup have provided templates for other kinds of spaces in the city. D.C. currently has a total of 370 million square feet of rentable offices, making it one of the largest markets for adaptive reuse in the country. 

On view until March 4th of next year, BRUTAL DC was conceived with the help of award-winning architectural photographer Ty Cole and Dr. Angela Person of the University of Oklahoma's College of Architecture. UNLV's Josh Vermillion and Eric Strain were also involved in the content selection of the exhibition, along with D.C.-based writer and preservation advocate Deane Madsen and University of Arizona associate professor of architecture, Eric Weber. 

Brooks + Scarpa is also currently one of three finalists in the running to redesign I.M. Pei's dormitory complex at the New College of Florida.