West End Square 50

West End Square 50, a mixed-use building on a corner lot in a vibrant neighborhood full of hotels and restaurants brings much-needed public amenities into the West End neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Three distinct programs—a new fire station for Engine Company No.1 on street level, a two-story squash club on the second and third floors, and six stories of affordable residential housing on top—are situated in clearly articulated stacked volumes that push and pull the otherwise consistent street wall, creating more engagement and activity in the area.

The building’s main public spaces are shaped between the ground-level fire station—its perforated metal façade and four garage doors are painted fire-engine-red—and the upper residential volume, in a recessed two-story glass box occupied by the squash club, a pub, and a pro-shop, as well as a public terrace overlooking M Street.