Life in the City: Housing, History and the Supermarket, an Episode in Urban Architecture

Abstract

The project began as a response to a proposal to construct a suburban style grocery store and surface parking lot in the middle of an existing residential neighborhood, including the substantial demolition and 'strip-mall' conversion of a historic theater located on the Washington, DC site.

The Thesis evolved as an exploration of how do we reconcile our contemporary mercantile needs within the urban environment; specifically, how can one incorporate a suburban-scaled, 'big-box' retail structure in an existing, complex urban context.

The proposal that follows offers an integrated, mixed-use and contextually sensitive solution, incorporating a full size grocery store (the most fundamental of our consumer needs) with multiple levels of parking below, new residential row-housing and commercial space above - retaining and restoring both the historic theater and the overall neighborhood fabric.