JBG SMITH has commissioned KPF to design 2000 Bell Street, a residential building integral to the redevelopment of National Landing, the location of Amazon’s new headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.
In October, the developer submitted plans to Arlington County for approximately 2.6 million square feet of redevelopment that included new renderings of the KPF project.
KPF’s design for 2000 Bell Street infuses new life into a longstanding, commercial neighborhood, combining dynamic interplays of form and materiality, hierarchy and scale. Along South Bell Street, the tower’s street wall relates to the human scale of the pedestrian. Its angled glass and intricate stone fenestration evoke greater intimacy with the ground plane, coupled with an interior, open-air courtyard at the lobby level that welcomes visitors and residents alike. Along the highway, the tower massing elongates and its glass renders vertically, defining the wall as more iconic or monumental in relation to the Richmond Parkway. In both cases, the dynamic glass facades offer energetic texture and scale within a canyon of mostly uniform, precast buildings.
Trent Tesch, KPF Design Principal, explains the project’s inspiration: “KPF immediately reacted to the site’s edges, which influence the building’s massing footprint and aesthetic character. Our design strategy maximizes the site’s prominence within the development’s greater scope, integrating the programmatic needs of residential architecture with a thoughtful approach to material craft.”
Forth Bagley, KPF Managing Principal, promotes the collaboration’s importance: “This is an exciting commission for KPF, one that presents the design challenge of bringing residential programming to a predominantly commercial area. As the project progresses, we look forward to working with JBG SMITH to communicate the power of contemporary architecture in transforming the development into a vibrant mixed-use neighborhood.”
National Landing is the newly defined, interconnected, and walkable neighborhood that encompasses Crystal City, the eastern portion of Pentagon City and the northern portion of Potomac Yard. Situated across the Potomac River from Washington, DC, National Landing is a Metro accessible urban community known for its adjacency to Reagan National Airport and walkable environment featuring offices, apartments and hotels.
2000 Bell Street joins the firm’s growing DC portfolio, including the recently completed 1900 N Street, another JBG SMITH collaboration that serves as the gateway to the city’s central business district, 1000 Maine, the first trophy office building in The Wharf, and 200 F Street within the Capitol Crossing development, which reconnects the Capitol Hill and East End neighborhoods. KPF’s prominent residential projects include One Jackson Square, 27 Wooster, and 500 West 21st Street in New York, which evoke the rich, industrial characters of their Downtown Manhattan neighborhoods with unique formal and material treatments; and 815 Water Street in Tampa, which marks the beginning of the city’s Riverwalk and remains attuned to the natural landscape and programmatic needs.