Vista on Courthouse
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- Masonry Materials730,000 field brick color, 70,000 accent brick and 10 different angle brick shapes
- LocationArlington, VA
- General ContractorDonohoe Construction
- ArchitectWDG Architecture
- Property OwnerSunburst Hospitality
Project Overview
This 11-story residential tower includes 213 units surrounded by seven distinct, 4-story cluster townhouse buildings, is centrally located within minutes of Washington DC, Crystal City, Rosslyn and Clarendon. The exterior facades for all buildings consist of cast stone veneer at the lowest floor, with a combination of two ironspot brick colors above interwoven with hand set cast stone elements. The tower also features large cast stone cladding and columns at four main entry locations and at a circular roof rotunda, as well as large cast stone bands at the 2nd floor and roof parapets.
The primary skin element on the project is oversize face brick from Watsontown Brick Company. Over 730,000 field brick, color “Empire Smooth Iron Spot”, and over 70,000 accent brick, color “Germantown Smooth Iron Spot” were incorporated into all buildings and sitework. The Germantown accent brick color complimented the large cast stone features incorporated in the design, and also helped tie-in the building with the neighboring hotel complex to the north. The Empire field brick provided an excellent contrast to the cast stone elements and accent brick, and provided the project with its own signature color while maintaining consistency with the surrounding skyline. The iron spot feature of the brick, along with soldier and stack bond jamb course features, provided the contrast for the large masonry panel areas. Ten (10) different angle brick shapes were incorporated to accommodate the complex Tower building geometry.
The townhouse cluster buildings contain more detailed brick features, such as herringbone panels, angled bay window panels, accent jambs, and brick soldier bands. The site areas surrounding the townhouse buildings incorporate curved masonry and cast stone site walls, and open air brick screen walls. The scheduling of seven 4-story buildings and associated sitework, in conjunction with differing site condition issues impacting site utilities and construction of the multi-story retaining wall along the entire north property line, was extremely challenging for all contractors.
The buildings, inclusive of cast stone cladding elements, are designed entirely as cavity walls, thus implementing extensive air barrier and flashing systems. The low absorption rate of the Watsontown brick contributed to the performance of this cavity wall design.