The Lacey

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

THE LACEY

Division1

ARCHITECTS
Division1

PHOTOGRAPHS
Debi Fox Photography

AREA
25000.0 ft2

CATEGORY
Apartments

LOCATION
Washington, DC, USA

PROJECT YEAR
2009

Text description provided by architect.

PROGRAM

The Lacey is a 26-unit, four level, 25,000 SF residential building organized around a three-level central corridor/atrium.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

Outdoor space is ample with a communal second floor terrace and rooftop, as well as private balconies, courtyards, and terraces for the units.

NEIGHBORHOOD

The Lacey is located three blocks from the famed U Street Corridor in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, DC.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

The buildings comprising the neighborhood are predominately Victorian-era, hastily constructed, row houses by speculative builders and real estate developers in response to the rapid growth of the federal government following the Civil War.

During the turn of the 20th century the U Street Corridor was home to the nation’s largest African American community until it was surpassed by Harlem in the 1920’s.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

The Neighborhood remained a cultural center for African Americans, producing the likes of Pearl Bailey and Duke Ellington. Following the 1968 assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and consequent riots, the neighborhood went into rapid decline until the 1990’s.

One of the first transformative projects for the neighborhood was a 5 row house development developed and designed on vacant drug infested lots by Division1.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

This was soon followed by the W Street residence, only a couple of blocks away, also developed and designed by Division1, and most recently the Lacey condominiums. With these 3 projects, Division1 anchored the neighborhood and reinstated its cultural significance — now the design-center of Washington, DC.

THE SITE

The site of the Lacey was a former parking lot for the Florida Avenue Grill, a landmark African American soul-food establishment that opened in 1944, and one of the few restaurants that survived through decades of decline.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

The owner of the Florida Avenue Grill commissioned Division1 to build a forward-looking building that would depart from the brick and mortar tenant buildings of the declining past and express an optimism for the future while symbolizing a dedication to the neighborhood and its rebirth. Thus the building was named the Lacey in honor of Lacey C. Wilson Sr. and Lacey C. Wilson Jr. longtime proprietors of the Florida Avenue Grill.

Thus the building was named the Lacey in honor of Lacey C. Wilson Sr. and Lacey C. Wilson Jr. longtime proprietors of the Florida Avenue Grill.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

THE DESIGN

From the street the Lacey can be seen as one large volume set upon a lower volume comprised of duplexes with private entrances, stoops, small front yards (typical of the surrounding row homes). The larger volume holding the various units is actually split in two creating a full-height corridor that runs the length of the site.

Each end of the corridor is full-height glass (a light steel frame exterior staircase pushes out from one side that takes residents to a communal terrace and rooftop) allowing for maximum light and ventilation.

The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography

All access to the units is contained in this central space by means of staggered landings that maximize openness. All of the units have either a balcony, while many have a balcony and either a terrace or courtyard.


The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography
The Lacey
© Debi Fox Photography


The Lacey
Plan 01
The Lacey
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Plan 03
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Plan 05
The Lacey
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