Strathmore Square — where city and park converge

North Bethesda, MD
316,000 square feet
LEED Gold Certified
2024
Type: Multifamily

Project EUI

53%

reduction in energy use compared to the AIA 2030 baseline

Our project at Strathmore Square is a pair of connected buildings in a new transit-oriented neighborhood located midway between densely urbanized Bethesda and North Bethesda. Just 20 minutes from Washington, D.C, the 316,000-square-foot project lives at the humming interface of the urban and the pastoral: steps from the Grosvenor Square Metro station and Strathmore Music Center to the west, and the tranquility of Rock Creek Park to the east.

Where our client had originally conceived of the project as a single structure, we saw an opportunity to more fully embrace its urban and natural context. As the first residences in a new neighborhood, the project works at the urban scale, seeding the area with two unique buildings rather than just one.

Both buildings have distinct identities yet remain in dialogue with one another. Drawing inspiration from Rock Creek’s geology and terrain, Royale features vertical striations and chiseled setbacks that echo the ravines and outcroppings found throughout the park; the smaller Ravel plays on the variegated topography of the region, abstracted through the angled lines of its cantilevered balconies. These dynamic façades break down the scale of the building masses. Clad in earthy brick of different tones and proportion, the buildings convey a solidity and rootedness in place, paying homage to their rocky surrounds. Detailed, hand-laid masonry at the ground level gives a crafted texture to the entrance.

Arranged along a north-south axis, the linear site slopes down from its western edge. In response, the project addresses very different scales. The buildings are ten stories tall along the public-facing length and step down the slope to be level with the existing four-story structures across the street on the eastern flank. This staggered massing provides for generous terraces and ample access to sunlight. Healthful connections to daylight, greenery, and outdoor living shape the project. Within the core of the buildings, double-height amenity spaces face onto a courtyard with lushly planted meandering paths. Most of the 220 units also have their own private outdoor spaces: a rare achievement for residences in the region.

On the ground floor, the sidewalk expands to form a public plaza between the two buildings. The lower-floor storefronts, to be occupied by a café and a dance company, bring life to the street and this plaza. Floor-to-ceiling windows can roll up, transforming the base of the buildings into flexible indoor-outdoor spaces. And upon entering the interior public spaces, one retains a connection to the outdoors, with greenery revealing itself in layers—a tall moss wall anchors the entrance, an exterior courtyard space visible just beyond—inviting you to move through the space. Expansive Warp & Weft rugs, from our Light & Shadow collection, furnish these welcoming spaces. Ravel and Royale weave nature and culture together into the heart of a new vibrant community.

These buildings—through material, form, and experience—aim to heighten what makes this place so special: its unique overlap of nature and culture.
Marc Leff, Senior Principal