Winner of the 2025 John Russell Pope Award in Urban Design, the townhouses of Avon Place completely transformed an abandoned three-lot site in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood. We reconceived this empty urban space to create a mini-block in the neighborhood on a site previously occupied by a lone, derelict 1940’s brick house and fragments of a garage. Our design, with its nod to Federal style rowhouses and executed within the aesthetic recommendations of the historic review board, creates a holistic composition across the three lots. It pays homage to the extant building and maintains harmony with the surrounding architectural environs to create a seamless integration into Georgetown’s historic urban fabric. The elevation of the two new town houses suggests a mirrored singular façade in dialogue with the brick façade of the completely rebuilt original house. The exterior iron work establishes a visual unity across the three houses with a fresh approach to historic revivalism. Each townhouse embraces the challenge of the deep, narrow lots with a linearity in plan and emphasis on light to maximize spatial dimensions. An axial hall offers organizational structure to the interior as it welcomes the visitor and hints at its final destination of the rear terrace beyond. Elegant post-and-lintel classical elements screen the library off the front entry, while gracious classical moldings signal the separate spaces along the axial hall. The sequence leads to a bright dining/living area filled with light from the glass expanse. This living area opens to the terrace with its 7-foot-high brick garden wall, taking advantage of the surrounding natural elements while creating privacy within this beautifully crafted urban environment.

Photography by Gordon Beall