Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown

The Ritz-Carlton, Georgetown integrates a 1932 landmark incinerator building into a high-end mixed-use complex on a steeply sloping site in Washington D.C.'s highly-regulated Georgetown neighborhood. The mixed-use program consists of an 86-key Ritz-Carlton Hotel, 28 condominiums, a 14-screen theater, below-grade parking for 350 cars, and 8,000 square feet of retail space. A 40-foot height limitation and Floor-Area Ratio of only 2.5 eliminated the possibility of stacking program elements on top of the site. To solve this, approximately 50 percent of the program was carefully located underground. Residential buildings take full advantage of Potomac River views and are situated on top of the plinth along K Street. The theaters and parking facility are concealed within the plinth, while hotel buildings are located off quiet South Street.

The incinerator was transformed into the hotel's public spaces: the lobby, bar, restaurant, and meeting spaces. The smokestack itself became a private dining room 16 feet in diameter. In keeping with Georgetown's historic character, the buildings were crafted in brick, stone, and metal to make a contemporary statement of massing while reinterpreting the vernacular of the historic city. The interiors expose the essential structural components and contrast them with simple but richly textured furnishings and finishes.

Awards

2011 TOP 6 HOTELS IN WASHINGTON, DC, World's Best Hotel Awards, Travel+Leisure Magazine

2008 AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE AWARD, The Chicago Athenaeum, Metropolitan Arts Press Ltd., and The European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design, and Urban Studies

2004 CITATION, Boston Society of Architects / AIA New York

2004 AWARD FOR MERIT / CITATION FOR DESIGN, AIA New York State

2004 FINALIST, Gold Key Award for Best Hotel Interior Design

2004 PROJECT OF THE YEAR, National Commercial Builders Council

2003 AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE, AIA Washington, DC Chapter

2003 CRAFTSMANSHIP AWARD, Washington Building Congress

Client

Millennium Partners

Client

EastBanc

Publications

"2004: The Year in Review, Housing Design Awards," ArchitectureBoston, Jan / Feb 2005.

"Smoldering Good Looks," Contract Magazine, November 2003.

"With Good Looks to Burn...Project Stacks Up Well," The Washington Post, 28 June 2003.

"Top End Condos in Area Breaking a Price Barrier," The Washington Post, 12 July 2001.

"Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Residences, Georgetown," Eastern Seaboard Construction Review, 2003.

"Historic Georgetown Rekindles an Old Flame," AIArchitect, 01 August 2003.

"Hot Times Return to the Old Town," Mid-Atlantic Construction, January 2003.

Photography

Maxwell MacKenzie