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Thursday, October 11, 2007

BELLArchitects Moving to Shaw

A few weeks ago, a commenter tipped me to the fact that an architecture firm is moving to the building under renovation at 1228 9th Street, NW, across from the convention center. This historic, Victorian-esque row home has undergone extensive renovations over the past year (you may recall that it was shrouded in a blue tarp for some time), and construction appears to be moving along steadily.

Upon closer inspection, I learned that the architecture firm that will soon move into the space is BELLArchitects , which currently is located on H Street, NE. BELLArchitects was formed in 1999 and has a varied practice, concentrating on community development opportunities in the District of Columbia. Their practice includes mixed-use, retail, residential, and institutional projects, and they specialize in difficult, urban sites, sustainable design, historic preservation and adaptive reuse.
I am excited about another architecture firm setting up shop in our great neighborhood. I think Shaw will benefit immeasurably from the presence of these creative class workers and the clients that will follow them here. I also think there is great potential for synergy between this architecture firm and existing galleries and businesses in Shaw; hopefully those connections will be made.

All to say, I look forward to welcoming BELLArchitects to the neighborhood!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agree it will be cool to have some architects around the corner. I've also been impressed at how they've (seemingly from the outside) been lovingly restoring 1228.

Hopefully they'll help in encouraging more businesses to take up residence in some of the still empty, unspoken for buildings along 9th.

Anonymous said...

Shaw Rez, do you know what kind of signage they will be putting up? I love the historic building, but also think it would be neat to see some creative signage out front.