D N A
An Urban Infill Building
Washington Square District, Rochester, New York
250 South Development
Winner of 2010 AIA Rochester Design Excellence
Award
On the south end of Washington Square, adjacent to Rochester's
Central Business District, lies an emerging residential
neighborhood consisting of century-old warehouses in various stages
of redevelopment. Located among these brick structures is a small
underutilized plot of land.
The primary goal for our client is to develop a mixed-use,
mixed-rate infill building that includes the ingredients (or "DNA")
of an active urban building. The transect, or "vertical zoning" of
the building program includes the following: below-grade garage
parking, a grade-level restaurant with a south facing plaza, second
floor office space, third floor extended-stay hotel rooms for the
local theater's traveling actors, fourth floor affordable housing,
fifth floor market-rate housing, and sixth floor penthouse living
units.
DNA, an acronym for "Downtown Neighborhood Activator," is a
microcosm of what we believe could be happening on a macro scale
throughout the Center City. The key components are a mix of uses, a
mix of rental rates, and high-density development in a centralized
walkable urban neighborhood. This type of building 'DNA' will help
stimulate the public realm and be inclusive to a broader
cross-section of the community.
The building relates to the adjacent warehouse aesthetic with
its brick masonry facade and large, punched window openings. By
engaging the buildings on South Avenue and the one set back from
the street, DNA turns the corner, stitching the street wall
together, and bridging the old and new with a more contemporary
treatment along its south façade. The wedge-shaped footprint,
strategically angled to preserve the adjacent building's views to
the Genesee River, opens up the site to allow for the plaza.