Award of Excellence
Best Amenity Space

Project Team

Carr Properties - (Owner + Developer)
Gensler - (Architect)
John Moriarty Associates - (General Contractor)
Avison Young - (Broker)
Carr Properties - (Project Management)
EditLab by Streetsense

Project Description

Signal House’s penthouse was conceived as an amenity space shared between all customers – a built-in coworking area, event space, multipurpose room, and conference space, all surrounded by a wraparound exterior terrace. But the expression of those zones is anything but corporate, from restrooms with diorama print wallcoverings, to projecting sign boxes announcing room functions.Wood paneling and inset textiles provide acoustic control with a series of 75 custom jacquard woven panels by Chicago atelier Studio Herron. Bookable rooms go beyond themed to a host of music and audio functions, with a podcast studio that has its own bifold door to an outdoor space, a karaoke room with a wraparound banquette and a switch for a rotating laser lights, and a DJ booth/record listening room with folding wood-framed acoustic walls, vintage DC concert posters, and a record collection curated by local shop, Byrdland.

The heart of the penthouse is its kitchen and indoor-outdoor bar, with views of DC landmarks and an overhead door that gives the bar two sides to serve right out to the terrace on sunny days. The kitchen features a wood burning hearth and a full cooking suite for chef-driven special events, backed by a flexible catering room, all surrounded by a dramatic hand-carved walnut portal by Asheville woodworked Casey Johnson, with chiseled textures and wood leaves framing the entryway.

The exterior terrace features lush plantings, ipe wood paving, plentiful seating, and a concrete overhang with heating and fans that make the southern portion of the exterior terrace a 12-month amenity. The terrace also has breath-taking views of the entire city. The Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, RFK Stadium, the Basilica, The Washington Monument, among others, are all easily visible from the rooftop. Even more distant urban centers such as Rosslyn, Tysons, and Bethesda can be seen. Three overhead folding garage doors connect the indoor and outdoor spaces and allows guests to make full use of the entire space.

Every building describes itself as distinctive, but Signal House is one of a kind, designed to be a place that people love to work and visit. The penthouse embodies that description more than any other space in the building.