St. Thomas Parish, Washington, D.C.
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT: Hickok Cole
- Laurence Caudle, principal, director of Housing
- Stefano Sani, associate principal, senior project designer
- Bertin Radifera, senior associate, senior project manager
- Peter McCarthy, senior associate, project designer
- Quy Nguyen, associate, project designer
- Ryan Sloan, senior associate, director of Construction Administration
- Jeffrey A. Lockwood, AIA, NCARB, senior associate, project designer
OWNERS: St. Thomas Parish (church) and Capital Security Advisors (residence) DEVELOPER: May Riegler DEVELOPMENT/CONSTRUCTION MANAGEMENT: May Riegler and Zeus Living GENERAL CONTRACTORS: Forrester Construction (church) and Snead Construction (residence), (202) 506-2721
MATERIALS
The following is a sampling of materials used in the project:
CHURCH EXTERIOR
TERRA COTTA: NeaCera Matte in White Natural from Avenere Cladding
GLASS: Zephyr Aluminum, Kawneer 1600 Wall System 1
PORCELAIN TILE: Basaltina Pantelleria from Casalgrande Padana
CROSS: Goldtastic from Prismatic Powders
METAL PANELS: Kanalco and Alucoil
GLASS ENTRANCES: J.E. Berkowitz
FIRST FLOOR COMMONS
PORCELAIN TILE (FLOOR): Basaltina Pantelleria from Casalgrande Padana
REREDOS: Rugo Stone FONT PORCELAIN TILE: Moon White Nature from Porcelanosa
FONT FIBERGLASS SHELL: Water Structures LLC
CHAPEL
ACOUSTICAL PLASTER CEILING: StarSilent
SECOND-FLOOR SANCTUARY
INDUSTRIAL WOOD FLOOR: Bauwerk
ACOUSTIC FABRIC PANEL: Carnegie
FOURTH-FLOOR FELLOWSHIP HALL
VINYL FLOORING: Tandus Centiva
THROUGHOUT
ARCHITECTURAL LIGHTING: Aion LED, Coronet, Focal Point, LF Illumination, Fabbian, Lumenpulse, Soraa, Visa Lighting and Prolume
THE RETROFIT
St. Thomas Episcopal Church was designed in the late 1800s by Philadelphia architect Theophilus Chandler, followed by the construction of its Parish Hall in 1922. Frequented by Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and other prominent Washington, D.C., residents throughout its history, the church was long considered a sacred relic within the Dupont Circle community. It continued to play a supportive role during the civil rights movement in the early 1960s and, again, for the LGBT community in the 1970s and ’80s as one of the few churches conducting funerals for those who died from HIV and AIDS.
In 1970, arson destroyed much of the original church, leaving behind only a few walls and a portion of the Parish Hall, forcing the congregation to meet in a much smaller onsite structure for the years following. Several decades later, parish representatives resolved to rebuild and partnered with a local developer who would help alleviate some of the construction costs by using part of the property to construct a new residential building. The resulting renovation and development transforms the English Gothic church ruins and surviving parish hall into a 47,869-square-foot, 55-unit multifamily residence, which complements the character of the surrounding townhomes, and an 18,000-square-foot church that reinvigorates the congregation’s presence within its community.
Rising to a height of 65 feet, the project is composed of three distinct sections, including the repurposed parish hall with two added floors, the restored Cloister entrance leading to a new block of apartments and the new church along 18th Street. The final design concept supports a resolution the developer made in partnership with the Dupont Circle Conservancy, which includes the use of high-quality materials and gradual steps back in height to maintain the neighborhood’s pedestrian experience. This resulted in the creation of several outdoor terrace spaces. From east to west, the development blends with the neighborhood, transitioning seamlessly from the nearby townhouses to the residence and ending with St. Thomas Parish.
To accommodate the new residence, the bulk of the church shifted to 18th Street and was stacked vertically. Its new design is inspired by the concept of ascension, which represents the church’s symbolic rise from the ashes while properly reflecting the church’s modern approach and progressive values. To articulate this concept, the church is designed to lead the observer from the glazed corner entrance at Church and 18th Street, through the rising profile of the ascending stair and the dynamic composition of the facade, which culminates at the large metal cross embedded in the light tower above the entrance. The church’s contemporary facade stands out amid the surrounding Dupont Circle neighborhood and features a faceted surface of terra-cotta modules, traversed by a dynamic sequence of multi-height openings, filtered by a sunscreen veil of gently projecting terra-cotta baguettes.
St. Thomas Parish opened successfully in April 2019, welcoming the congregation by celebrating its first service on Easter Sunday, signifying the church will remain cemented in the fabric of the community for years to come.