Square 673- 1st & M Street
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- LocationWashington, DC
- General ContractorParadigm Construction Company
- ArchitectDavis Carter Scott, PC
- Property OwnerArchstone North Capital Hill, LLP
Project Overview
Archstone First and M (known as Square 673 Apartments during construction) is a luxury apartment complex centrally located in the NoMa Station area of Washington, DC, offering residents convenient access to the New York Avenue Metro Station and the restaurants and shops of Union Station. This project is the first of two phases for this development, and consists of 468 apartment units over 14 stories above grade with 3 underground garage levels.
The exterior façade consists of a blend of four brick, three different mortar colors and three cast stone colors, with contrasting color bands and glazed brick accents. The masonry was integrated with large, serpentine shaped precast components on the three main elevations, which together provide a building that truly stands out in this community. Over 475,000 oversize face brick and 2,753 cast stone coping, head and sill units were installed on the project.
The biggest challenge facing Calvert Masonry on the project was sequencing of our work with the precast fabrication/erection and interior work schedules. In traditional high rise construction, the exterior façade is constructed starting at the ground floor completely around, then progressed up each floor all together, with windows and interior construction starting after the masonry in the same upward progression. However, because of the arrangement of the precast on the three main building elevations, precast erection needed to be complete prior to Calvert’s start of masonry on those elevations, the timing of which was later than the desired interior construction start. To allow interior construction to proceed, Calvert was asked to proceed with exterior masonry on the courtyard and endwalls (which did not have precast components) using conventional hoist means, then start a second exterior sequence after precast erection and with windows in place, requiring implementation of multiple mobile cranes to provide masonry materials to the scaffolds, which given the tight access constraints around the exterior of the building was a challenging endeavor. Additionally, the depth and variations inherent with the serpentine precast elements on the building caused some interesting challenges for the scaffold system utilized on the project. Our FRACO mast climbing scaffold units had to be set up in with enough distance from the building to allow movement past the precast while still allowing access to the walls for veneer work.
Calvert appreciated the opportunity to be a part of this signature residence project.