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The Chicago Cubs and White Sox rebuilds were completely different in many ways and eerily alike in others.

With the Sox clinching their first postseason berth since 2008 and battling for the top seed in the American League, and the survivors of the Cubs championship season trying to stage one last hurrah, heres a tale of two successful rebuilds.

The architects

During Year 3 of Cubs President Theo Epsteins rebuild, the teams social media department sent out a tweet saying theyd lost a game to the Rays. The problem was the Cubs had yet to hit in the bottom of the ninth, making the tweet an educated guess, albeit a good one.

That premature tweet was one of several uninspiring moments during the early years of Epsteins rebuild. He weathered the storm while repeating his mantra of building a foundation of sustained success, and ultimately those low points were forgotten when the rebuild resulted in a World Series championship in 2016.

Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer deserve an assist for inadvertently helping Sox general manager Rick Hahn pull off his rebuild and not just for sending the South Siders top hitting prospect Eloy Jimenez, their most improved player, and a top starter in Dylan Cease for Jose Quintana.

Sox fans might hate the Cubs, but they couldnt avoid seeing Epstein tear down his roster in 2012, go through three unwatchable seasons and become champions in his fifth. So Hahn didnt have to do much convincing when he decided to execute his plan. Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf also bought in.

It took a lot of faith from him to buy into a plan that was going to require some sacrifice, Hahn said Friday in a teleconference. Jerry is as passionate a White Sox fan fundamentally as anyone Ive ever been around. He knew there was going to be some likely bad baseball, and there was Its nice to be able to see him witness some of the benefits of that, especially given that hed frequently point out his age when mentioning whether this was worthwhile for him personally. Tongue in cheek I think.

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Sox fans trusted the process, and believed in the prospects Hahn acquired, including Yoan Moncada, Michael Kopech, Lucas Giolito and Jimenez. Theyve now been rewarded with the biggest surprise in baseball, a team whose young core is under contract for several years.

The managers

After two dreadful seasons under Dale Sveum, the Cubs hired Padres bench coach Rick Renteria as manager in 2014, the third year of the rebuild. Renteria went 73-89 before being fired one year into his three-year deal so Epstein could hire Joe Maddon.

It was a cold move, but it worked. Maddons hiring completed the rebuild and helped make the Cubs contenders before losing his job in October.

The Sox have had Renteria for five years, including one as bench coach under Robin Ventura when the Cubs were still paying him. Going into Fridays game, Renteria was 234-301 as Sox manager, a .437 winning percentage, but has guided the team from 17 games under .500 in 2019 to 16 games over.

Renteria expressed his philosophy to me as Cubs manager in September 2014.

Anytime youre trying to develop a club, an identity, and still develop players at the major-league level, sometimes you do things that might seem odd, he said. But theres a big picture to it and things end up working out.

Some have questioned his philosophy, but its hard to argue its not working out with the Sox.

The placeholders

The Cubs rebuild had its share of Mike Olts and Joe Mathers below-average players holding down the fort until the kids were ready. Likewise, the Sox had their fill of Matt Davidsons and Mike Pelfreys. Someone has to keep the seat warm.

Olt turned third base over to Kris Bryant in 2015, suffering a wrist injury after Bryant had been in the minors long enough to avoid starting his service-time clock. Bryant became National League Rookie of the Year in 15 and NL MVP the following year.

Davidson was a highly touted Sox infielder who hit three home runs on opening day in Kansas City, Mo., in 2018 and quickly became a media darling. But he never hit consistently and was gone after the season and out of the majors until signing with the Cincinnati Reds this summer.

The one-hit wonders

The Sox were high on right fielder Daniel Palka, who was picked up off the scrap heap in 2018 and hit 27 home runs, touting him as a blue-collar star. But Palka started 0-for-32 in 2019 and hit .107 before being released.

Center fielder Arismendy Alcantara was given a prime opportunity by the Cubs in 2014 but hit .205 in 278 at-bats.

The Cubs' rebuild started in 2012 with a first baseman named Bryan LaHair, who already was scheduled to be replaced by top prospect Anthony Rizzo when he shockingly made the National League All-Star team. The Cubs made the move anyway.

LaHair had a walk-off RBI single in the final game of what turned out to be the last at-bat of a three-year career.

The mistake signings

Epstein made the colossal blunder of signing starter Edwin Jackson to a four-year, $52 million deal in 2013. Jackson lost 18 games in his first year and finished 16-34 with a 5.37 ERA in two-plus seasons before being dumped.

Hahn dropped $18 million on veteran reliever Kelvin Herrera in a two-year deal in 2019 before cutting him loose this summer after two appearances. Herrera had a 6.54 ERA with the Sox before his release and was signed by the Cubs, who in turn released him three weeks later.

The Twitter lapses

The Cubs endured a player-related Twitter controversy in 2013 when Ian Stewart complained about being left to rot in the minors, suggesting Sveum didnt like him.

Its pretty obvious that its not appropriate to criticize your manager on Twitter, Epstein said upon issuing a suspension.

The Sox had their player-related Twitter controversy in 2018 when it was discovered top pitching prospect Michael Kopech sent bigoted tweets about Blacks and Mexicans and used homophobic slurs as a 17-year-old in 2013.

Michael has been very upfront about his tweets from high school several years ago, Hahn said.

Kopech apologized for being stupid and an immature teenager.

The oddities

The Sox played an all-Garcia outfield in 2017 consisting of Avisail, Willy and Leury. It was the first outfield in history to have players with the same last name.

The Cubs had a deal to send Ryan Dempster to the Atlanta Braves for 22-year-old Randall Delgado in 2013, but Dempster nixed it, hoping to go to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal was reported on the Braves website before Dempster angrily denied it. It turned out to be good news for Epstein, who ultimately dealt him to the Texas Rangers and got in return a future star in Kyle Hendricks.

The albatrosses

The untradable contracts of Cubs left fielder Alfonso Soriano and Sox starter James Shields made both albatrosses early on in the rebuilds. The Cubs eventually dealt Soriano to the New York Yankees in 2013 while eating a chunk of his eight-year deal.

But despite diminishing skills, both players were widely admired by their teammates and imparted some wisdom that proved helpful down the line. Sorianos joie de vivre rubbed off on Rizzo, while Shields bulldog mentality can now be seen in Giolito.

Everyone plays a part, no matter if its quantifiable.

2020 the Chicago Tribune

Visit the Chicago Tribune at http://www.chicagotribune.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Column: The architects. The albatrosses. Even the Twitter gaffes. The White Sox and Cubs rebuilds have a lot in common. - Yahoo! Voices

The Architects Series, the exhibition format created in collaboration with The Plan and sponsored by the Iris Ceramica Group, is underway again after the summer break and following the long pause imposed by the pandemic lockdown, presenting itself to the public with a brand new formula: online webinars that make it possible to overcome physical and geographical boundaries, adapting to the changes taking place in our society. The first appointment of the new format, the thirteenth in the series, is set to take place on September 17 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM and focuses on the German architect and engineer Werner Sobek. This will be followed by appointments on October 29 dedicated to Steven Holl Architects and on November 26 dedicated to Zaha Hadid Architects.

The Werner Sobek architecture studio, founded in 1992, has gained international fame for its expertise in engineering, design and sustainability, with important international collaborations with leading names in the architecture world including: Christoph Ingenhoven, Barkow Leibinger, Henn, Helmut Jahn, Populous, Sauerbruch Hutton, Ole Scheeren, UNStudio, Zaha Hadid Architects and many others. An international firm with over 350 employees and offices in Germany (Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Berlin and Hamburg), as well as in leading cities such as Moscow, Istanbul, New York, Buenos Aires and Dubai. All sharing a number of key concepts in the design process such as energy efficiency, promotion of eco-sustainable technologies and responsibility towards nature and men, aware that, as architect Werner Sobek affirms in the presentation trailer, as much as 20% of global pollution is related to the construction industry. Principles which architect Werner Sobek has translated into a genuine standard for sustainable architecture, registered as a protected trademark under the Triple Zero name. The three zeros indicate that the building must be self-sufficient from an energy point of view and therefore it must produce the energy necessary for its needs, but without using fossil fuels (Zero Energy), it must not produce CO emissions (Zero Emissions) and it must be constructed using elements that at the end of their life cycle can be recycled (Zero Waste). The R128 house in Stuttgart has become a personification of this standard, a building constructed on four floors in which the architect Werner Sobek lives with his family.

Subject to registration (professional training credits can be earned), it will be possible to participate in the September 17 webinar and watch the 30-minute video documentary. The film will take spectators inside the architectural studio to get a behind the scenes look at the modus operandi of the firms architects and its ongoing projects.For Werner Sobek one of the key aspects is the idea that the architect should not use traditional materials and replicate past models, but should conceive original solutions that are able to anticipate peoples living and working needs. Todays and tomorrows architectures must demonstrate themselves as being radically different from the one that preceded us. Following the video documentary, participants will be able to attend the next live lecture presented by architect Werner Sobek entitled Build More with Less&rdquo, for the opportunity to learn more about the design philosophy that distinguishes the studios projects.

(Agnese Bifulco)

WEBINAR:September 17, 202017.00 / Welcome - documentary: The Architects Series A documentary on: Werner Sobek17.30 Conference: Build More with Less with Werner Sobek

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Three new appointments of The Architects Series the first will focus on Werner Sobek - Floornature.com

Gil Hanse is an acclaimed golf-course architect, who teamed with the L.P.G.A. Hall of Famer Amy Alcott to build the Olympic course for the Rio de Janeiro games in 2016.

This week his restoration of Winged Foot Golf Clubs West Course will get its international debut as host of the 2020 United States Open. He completed the work in 2017, after first restoring the clubs East Course in 2014. (Both are ranked in the Top 100 courses in the world according to Golf Digest and Golf Magazine.)

Winged Foots West Course is a famously brutal course on the U.S. Open rotation. But Hanse has a roster of restorations set to host major events. The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., will host the U.S. Open in 2022 and the Los Angeles Country Club in 2023. He has also worked on courses that previously were in the championship rotation, like Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., and Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., where Jack Nicklaus won the Open in 1967 and 1980.

In a previous generation, the architect Robert Trent Jones Sr. was known as the Open Doctor for his work preparing some of these same courses for the U.S. Open. When asked if hes the new Open Doctor, Hanse laughed and credited his business partner Jim Wagner, and in Winged Foots case, the clubs superintendent, Steve Rabideau.

Hanse could more aptly be called the Open Therapist. He does not remake a course, but unearths how architects like A.W. Tillinghast, the designer of Winged Foot, wanted to challenge golfers. Hanse does extensive research and then brings those original features back, making adjustments to fit the length of the modern game.

The following interview has been edited and condensed.

How did the Winged Foot restorations happen?

Through a change in superintendents and a change in leadership at the club, we had an opportunity to come in and talk about how both courses should be treated. It was a pure restoration. We were hired. We put together a master plan for all 36 holes. The East Course came first. Some of the luster had come off it. We were hopeful wed do both.

Was the East Course a tryout for the West?

I dont know if it was a tryout. I think what happened was when they saw the changes to the East, they realized they couldnt have the West sitting there untouched when the East had been restored to that level, not only architecturally but also all the infrastructure.

Did you feel added pressure working at such a famous golf course?

Not really. I dont want to sound cavalier about it. We understand the responsibility, and really what we focus on is the research. If were convinced thats the right thing to do, we do it. When you know youre hosting a championship, you have to decide what the proper length is. Thats different than a pure restoration at a course thats ultimately for the members.

How do you balance the needs of the members with the needs of the tour pros?

A lot of it is positioning of tees and bunkers. At Winged Foot, weve reopened the front of the greens, which helps the member who has the ability to bounce it up and doesnt affect the pros. But when you show up at Winged Foot, you expect it to be hard. No one is looking for it to be easy.

Has the restoration process changed in the past two decades?

To a certain degree. Theres a recognition of these great architects. Whats also changed is the technology. Twenty years ago, wed never have tried to rebuild all the greens at Winged Foot or Baltusrol. Now we have the technology to map them and a high degree of certainty that if we pull up the green its going to go back the same way.

Do these restoration projects make you think about who might restore your courses some day?

If karma is a real thing and the fact that weve been so meticulous in restoring the work of these golden age golf architects then hopefully someone will take a similar tack with our courses.

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Gil Hanse Restores Courses to Their Glory - The New York Times

Press release from AIA North Carolina:

On September 26, Architects from the Asheville Section of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) will be showing off their design partnerships with local businesses in Asheville. To help aid in the recovery of Ashevilles businesses, and to look for ways to improve social distancing, AIA Asheville has been working with the City of Asheville and local businesses who have applied for the citys AVL Shares Space initiative. This initiative allows businesses to use parking spaces adjacent to their storefront for commercial activity.

Four architecture firms in the area have been assigned to work with companies to find the best solutions to meet the requirements put out but the city and to create spaces that each business can utilize to suit their needs. These designs will be built and used by the companies during the fall months.

The four projects involved are:Citizen Vinyl- 14 OHenry Ave Working with the firm McMillan Pazden Smith ArchitectureBenjamin Walls Gallery 38 Broadway Working with ARCA DesignThe Lobster Trap 35 Patton Ave Working with NOVUS ArchitectureParklet with the City of Asheville 50 S. Market St Working with MHA Works

The public is invited to view the spaces and designs on September 26 during a special Park(ing) Day Open House. During the hours between 1 pm and 4 pm, people are invited to visit these spaces and discover new ways that design can help keep shoppers and diners safe and healthy.

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Asheville architects partner with downtown businesses to create outdoor spaces - Mountain Xpress

Factory in the Forest / Design Unit Architects Snd Bhd

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Text description provided by the architects. Architectural competition winning entry for an electronics manufacturing plant. This site is conceived as a forest that penetrates, surrounds & steps over the building creating maximum contact with nature green, breeze, scent, sound, touch. A canopy supported by a forest of columns creates unity to office & courtyard while giving protection from the tropical sun. Office levels give access to roof gardens and staff are encouraged out for breaks, meetings or just contemplation.

A green courtyard separates the office & factory with views and access from both. A bridge over the courtyard links the office & production & this circulation route becomes a space for meetings, breaks & lectures. The factory has views to landscape & the sky condition through full height & clerestory glazing with glazing protected from the sun by free-standing off-form concrete fins and roof louvers. Rainwater cascades from roof spouts - heightening awareness to tropical storms, to storage tanks for landscape irrigation.

The plant receives natural diffused light across the entire factory floor reducing dependency on artificial lighting that, combined with chilled water floor slab cooling & cutting-edge air-conditioning technology reduces energy consumption to half that of a conventional plant of similar size.

Structure & materials are expressed; off-form reinforced concrete and steel structure, glazing and landscape. With this small palette of materials, the building explains to us what it is, what it is made of & how it is put together. The approach was to create a stimulating & meaningful working environment for all employees the forest to be the face of the building & company. Forests, critical for both macro & micro-climates are also vital for our psychological well-being.

Sustainability - From project onset, the client wanted an energy efficient and climatically responsive building. The cardinal sustainable design principles were energy efficiency, water efficiency, daylighting and biophilia the fundamental human need for connection to Nature.

The building is designed to shield against the hot & glaring tropical sun, while allowing diffused natural daylight to filter into the building. The office & courtyard are shaded by a louver canopy designed to provide effective solar protection during the hottest part of the day.

The factory skylight design was optimized to achieve an evenly day-lit work environment. The simulations and daylight measurements in operation show that the factory floor achieves an evenly day-lit work environment without glare throughout the year. Dimmable daylight responsive LED lighting and individual task lighting ensures that the required light levels are always obtained.

An innovative radiant floor cooling system works with embedded PEX pipes in the concrete slabs throughout the factory & office. By cooling down the slabs to about 21C, this structural element of the building doubles up as part of the cooling system. The higher chilled water temperature and the water-borne cooling transport makes the radiant floor slab cooling twice as energy efficient as conventional air-conditioning.

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Factory in the Forest / Design Unit Architects Snd Bhd - ArchDaily

Beijings Daxing area has been envisioned as a new gateway to the city. Located in the heart of Daxing district, the project operates as a key piece and the largest building complex within the regional development so far. The triangular tips of the floor plates become sky-garden balconies whose terraces provide a comfortable outdoor seating area. CLOU sees the outdoor workspace as a logical next step in the evolution of office culture.

Shoukai Vanke Centre is a 132,000 sqm mixed-use development which is composed of a 26,000 sqm shopping mall, a 124-meter-tall office tower as well as a hotel.

The office tower has a triangular shape which creates a strong presence at the main intersection yet appears elegant and slim from other points. The triangular shape is the result of a series of pragmatic decisions which include maximising views towards the newly built park and integrating double-height sky-garden balconies into the tips of the floorplates. The terraces provide comfortable outdoor seating areas with spectacular views over the adjacent park.

The sky gardens balconies in the office towers across two floors provide a comfortable outdoor seating area with spectacular views over the adjacent park. While the design of the rooftop garden employs bright colours, lively forms, and landscape by BAM to engage visitors and promote opportunities for physical activities and playfulness.

The commercial complex will offer primarily F&B retail which provides the opportunity to create unconventional dining experiences. Utilising this program, CLOU created a network of large terraces that are strategically placed and act as an extension of the shopfront. Elevated escalators and walkways connect to the adjacent terraces and weave the development into the 3D urban pedestrian network. This creates a central space that offers a view of overlapping planes and interlacing lines. The terraces have the flexibility for varying functions ranging from temporary booths, open bars, seating for dining, or even casual relaxation zones.

Photo credit: Amey Kandalgaonkar BAM

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Check out the Shoukai Vanke Centre Beijing by CLOU architects - DESIGNME

Renderings from Studio St Architects reveal a new 19-story tower located at 347 West 34th Street on the eastern edge of Hudson Yards, Manhattan. Described as a SynaCondo, the buildings typology will incorporate a portion of the existing West Side Jewish Center with a condominium volume above.

The synagogues existing sanctuary is located on the second floor of the building. In its current condition, the sanctuary is not serviced by an elevator and does not offer any exterior views. Current proposals will reorient the religious component to occupy two basement levels of the building, as well as the first and second above-grade floors.

Beginning at the lowest level, referred to as LL2, the project team has proposed a 2,600-square-foot social hall and associated back-of-house areas for patrons of the synagogue. An additional 1,200 square feet will serve as a flexible multi-purpose room for future occupants. LL1 above will support a 2,000-square-foot sanctuary with two freeform skylights to promote the flow of natural light into the space. Additional areas include 1,425 square feet of classroom space and the sanctuary library.

Interior renderings of the SynaCondo Sanctuary Ryan McLaughlin; Studio St Architects

The ground floor will include separate lobby space for both the synagogue and the condominium, a 760-square-foot chapel, a dedicated entryway to the rear Sukkah Garden for exclusive use by the synagogue, and an curved wood stairway that connects to the lower level.

The second level will house an additional 1,450 square feet of classroom area, 670 square feet of office space, a 600-square-foot library lounge, 300 square feet of administrative space, and views of the Sukkah Garden.

Exterior rendering of the SynaCondo ground floor entry Ryan McLaughlin; Studio St Architects

Interior renderings of the SynaCondo lobby Ryan McLaughlin; Studio St Architects

The condominiums will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments. The most premium residences will include a tenth-floor terrace apartment and two duplex penthouse units offering four bedrooms. The penthouses will be located between the 16th and 19th floors.

The exterior at the lower level is comprised of floor-to-ceiling glass and composite wood materials that are meant to emulate a glowing surface. The faade transitions into a more typical glass and metal faade outside the residential component.

It is not immediately clear when the project will be completed.

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Synagogue-Condominium 'SynaCondo' Revealed for 347 West 34th Street in Hudson Yards - New York YIMBY

Moscow Metro stations often look like veritable palaces for commuters. And so it is fitting that many are decorated with simply incredible light fittings!

On the inside, the entrance hall of Kurskaya station looks like a temple of classical antiquity that includes a high vaulted ceiling, giant marble columns and stucco molding. The architects envisioned the entrance as a kind of "Temple of Victory" that is illuminated by huge round chandeliers with Soviet red stars.

Novokuznetskaya station, opened during the war in 1943, is a reminder of troops defending their country both on the front line and on the home front. Most people first notice the magnificent mosaics and reliefs with patriotic scenes, but the lighting at the station is no less spectacular.

Novokuznetskaya's central hall is illuminated by huge fixed torchres, and singular chandeliers hang above the platforms. If you are not in a rush to catch your train, take an extra moment to look at the hammer and sickle motifs.

This station is one of the busiest in Moscow, and people from all over the country converge here since there are three major railway stations above. Komsomolskayas architects conceived of it as a "gate" to the city. The station was meant to create a favorable first impression of the Soviet capital, so no effort was spared in its decoration. As a result, Komsomolskaya station, with its gilding and abundance of mosaics and marble, outshines many actual palaces. The giant candelabra-type chandeliers are the central feature of its vaulted ceiling.

The chandeliers at Marksistskaya station are cleverly twisted into spiral shapes. The station's architect, Nina Alyoshina, recalls that for a long time she could not find the right glass for her design. Eventually, she found what she needed at a factory in the Moscow Region. It turned out to be optical glass for army tanks. Initially, the glass was 4 cm thick, but for the chandeliers it had to be specially made half as thick. She then decorated it with metal strips, and the result is stunning!

This station, which opened in 1950, was meant to remind Muscovites of those who died in World War II. The entrance hall is designed in the form of a triumphal arch, and the chandeliers are shaped like torches, illuminating the way towards a brighter future.

Novoslobodskaya station was the last project of the famous Soviet Metro architect, Alexey Dushkin. He regarded lighting as one of the most important elements of a subway stations construction.

Novoslobodskaya is decorated with bright stained-glass windows illuminated by a number of round chandeliers. In this way, the architect sought to present whimsical fairy tale motifs.

The spacious entrance hall of Dobryninskaya station is illuminated by the chandeliers shaped like saucers with red Soviet stars.

The escalators are flanked by torchresthe largest in the Moscow Metro.

Until the 1960s, this station was named Botanichesky Sad after the nearby botanical garden of Moscow State University (MGU), and Soviet agriculture was a key theme in its decoration. Plant motifs can be seen not just in the marble reliefs and columns, but also in the chandeliers and light fittings.

The station, which is decorated with murals depicting friendship between the Russian and Ukrainian nations, is regarded as one of the most beautiful in Moscow. Thanks to the stations enormous gilded chandeliers, the platform and entrance are particularly bright and well illuminated.

The light fittings in this station are shaped like flower buds! Slavyansky Bulvar station is whimsically decorated with fairytale plant motifs, and the lighting was made part of the decorative scheme. The light fittings seem to literally grow out of the benches and handrails.

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10 most remarkable chandeliers in the Moscow Metro (PHOTOS) - Russia Beyond

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

Local architect Richard Marker designed this glasshouse, which has wraparound views of the woods from all four bedrooms.

Its situated on a tree-covered spot in Downers Grove, which is around half an hours drive from Chicago. Marker created the property listed with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services as his own home, installing glass walls that bring the outdoors into every room.

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

For anyone who wants to further immerse themselves in the views, theres also a solarium and adjacent hot tub.

The Illinois propertys interiors offset the homes glass and steel construction, with white oak flooring and wooden ceilings introducing warmth throughout. As well as the open-plan living space, theres a steel spiral staircase that leads down to a basement currently in use as an extra entertainment room and bar.

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

Photography: Mark Gutierrez of VHT

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Live like an architect at this Mies-inspired glass and steel home in Illinois - The Spaces

For 39 years,Washingtonianhas joined with the DC chapter of the American Institute of Architects to recognize outstanding new work from the areas best residential architects. To ensure that the process is unbiased, none of the jurorsarchitects from around the countryare local. Of this years 79 submissions, seven homes were honored as general winners.

Firm: David Jameson Architect

With an exterior dominated by aluminum windows and austere concrete walls, this three-bedroom guest house (yes, its really only the guest house) on a 600-acre equestrian estate cuts a striking contrast with its lush surroundings. The upper story is enclosed on all sides in glass, offering 360-degree views of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the pastoral landscape.

Firm:Robert M. Gurney

From the front, this newly built house in Bethesdas Mohican Hills appears to be a relatively simple two-level structure. But in back, things get dramatic: The home drops down another two stories, anchored into a steeply sloping, wooded site with concrete walls at both ends. Darkshou sugi bansiding and decks on all four floors add to the modern-treehouse effect. Inside, the spaces are bright and open, with seasonal views of the Potomac River through wall-size windows.

Firm:Robert M. Gurney

The nearly 5,000-square-foot 30th-floor condo in Rosslyns Waterview complex looks across the Potomac to the monuments, the Capitol, the White House, and up to Washington National Cathedral. So a main priority of renovating it was to amplify those views. The architects maximized ceiling heightscreating an origami-like composition to accommodate hidden infrastructureto keep the wall of windows as unobstructed as possible. While the floor plan is mostly open, exposed concrete pillars and wood volumes define spaces without closing them in.

Firm:McInturff Architects

Sometimes an awkward lot can inspire even better design. The long, narrow form of this house was dictated by its tight corner siteof which it occupies every inch that it legally can. The home is designed to connect to the outdoors primarily from one side, which looks onto a garden and 75-foot lap pool. Floor-to-ceiling windows and terraces run nearly the entire length.

Firm:Wak Tok Architects

Some 20 years after buying their modest 1912 rowhouse, the homeowners decided to renovate it rather than move from the neighborhood theyd come to love. The houses back wall was taken down and replaced with a three-level addition containing a new kitchen, master suite, guest room, and roof deck. The higher ceiling in the new kitchen allows more natural light to filter into the older part of the homewhere period details were meticulously revived.

Firm:Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

To accommodate the homeowners need for more spacewithout compromising the midcentury-modern aesthetic that attracted them to their house in the first placethe architects designed two new pavilions to add to the original structure. One includes a master suite and home office. The other serves as a kids living area that can double as a guest room; it also has a deck. Both fit seamlessly with the older house, looking as though they could have been there all along.

Firm:Jones & Boer Architects

On four acres at the tip of a peninsula, this seven-bedroom waterfront home is proof that luxury doesnt have to be fussy. Designed in a U shape that gives every room a view of San Domingo Creek, the interior is painted pure white, with no trim, allowing the surrounding vistas to draw focus. Glass passageways connecting different sections of the house, slender columns, and clean-lined shiplap siding give an otherwise traditional exterior a fresh, modern feel.

Firm: McInturff Architects

McInturff Architects has remodeled this Georgetown townhouseperched on a bluff overlooking the Potomaca total of three times for three separate owners. The firms latest redesign is oriented around a modern, airy staircase that enlarged and replaced the original tight, winding stairs.

Firm: GriD Architects

On a farm in the West Virginia mountains that also includes a cabin and barn, this rustic-modern sauna was constructed of concrete, steel, and wood.

Five buildings were recognized in this category.

Firm: StudioMB

A 1917 church in Columbia Heights was transformed into eight co-living units that maintain much of the structures historic character.

Firm: Studio Twenty Seven Architecture

Situated between the Wharf and Navy Yard, the Aya serves as short-term housing for as many as 50 families experiencing homelessness.

Firm: Kube Architecture

A Hill East alley that was previously considered unbuildable now contains seven brightly hued, light-filled rowhouses with walkable green roofs.

Firm: Selldorf Architects and Core Architecture & Design

Whitman-Walker Healths former Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center on 14th Street is now a vibrant mixed-use development with stylish apartments, retail, a cultural center, and offices, including some of Whitman-Walkers.

Firm: Shalom Baranes Associates

For this new luxury apartment community, the architects took inspiration from the brutalist-modern aesthetic of nearby Lake Anne Village Center, designed by Robert Simon in the 1960s.

This article appears in theSeptember 2020issue ofWashingtonian.

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Senior Editor

Marisa M. Kashino joined Washingtonian in 2009 as a staff writer, and became a senior editor in 2014. She oversees the magazines real estate and home design coverage, and also writes long-form feature stories. She was a 2020 Livingston Award finalist for her two-part investigation into a possible wrongful conviction stemming from a murder in rural Virginia. Kashino lives in Northeast DC.

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Look Inside the Seven Coolest Houses in Washington - Washingtonian