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ParkerRodriguez, Inc.09-25-24 | Feature

ParkerRodriguez, Inc.

Alexandria, Virginia
by Keziah Olsen, LASN

ParkerRodriguez, Inc. (PRI) is a 20-person, full-service land planning, landscape architecture, and urban design firm serving public and private clients across the United States. Since its founding in 1996, PRI has embraced the best emerging practices in conservation, new urbanism, sustainability, livable community design, urban design, and landscape architecture. During that time the PRI team has led visioning, design, and master planning processes for some of the most innovative campus, institutional, mixed-use, and urban design projects under development today.
Software Used: AutoCAD, Sketchup, Lumion,
Adobe Suites

Park + Ford, Alexandria, Virginia

A: Adaptive reuse defines every aspect of Park + Ford. Originally constructed in the 1980s, this pair of 14-story office buildings sat over a stark plaza, parking garage, and surface parking lot. Responding to a changing office market, the client re-envisioned the project as a residential enclave in a mixed-use environment. The transit-rich environment of Alexandria City facilitated the conversion of excess garage parking into daycare and residential amenities. The introduction of planting, cabanas, seating, artful lighting, and warm pavers in former parking areas was also carefully coordinated. Clever reuse of the existing garage, fractured-rib concrete planters, and concrete pavers minimized demolition of existing site features, consistent with the project's sustainability goals.

The Perch,

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McLean, Virginia

B: At the heart of the Capital One Center, the Perch is one of the largest publicly accessible green spaces in the development. The Perch straddles two buildings developed by different architectural groups, one a performing arts center and the other a hotel. This novel Sky Park concept was originally developed by PRI in collaboration with Fairfax County during the early 2000s. A Sky Park is defined as a fully elevated, publicly accessible green space with street connection. The Perch achieves this by providing two elevator cores on the park's north and south sides.

City Ridge,
Washington, D.C.

C: Located in Glover-Archbold Park, City Ridge is positioned to be a new destination point and a catalyst for future development. This $650 million urban village will consist of eight new buildings augmenting the historic, refurbished, and repurposed Fannie Mae Headquarters building and grounds. The 1.2-million-square-footaential units and 250,000 square feet of commercial space. PRI was engaged to create the rooftop amenities for each of the eight new structures as well as several ground-level courtyards and a playground for a daycare facility. These spaces and amenities include a meadow garden and greenhouses, a Zen Garden, a yoga space, a daycare and discovery playground, an outdoor maker studio, a demonstration kitchen, a coffee bar, and a reading lounge.

800 17th St.,
Washington, D.C.

D: This Penthouse Rooftop renovation for 800 17th Street was focused on upgrading a paved rooftop area into a gathering space for tenants with sweeping views of the monumental core and the White House grounds. The design focused on creating a series of smaller outdoor spaces or rooms with fire features, furniture groupings, and an existing pergola. As part of the design process, the roof terrace was submitted and approved through the Commission of the Fine Arts with special review in relation to the White House. The design featured four green walls with bold, textured planting.

Clarendon West, Arlington, Virginia

E: Clarendon West is a new landmark development in the historic Lyon Village of Arlington that bridges the divide between low-slung, single-family housing and the density surrounding Clarendon Metro. As part of the two-phase construction process from 2019-2023, the Landscape Architects added courtyard and rooftop amenity spaces, each designed with a unique character. Amenities include two raised, multi-level pools, a games lawn, and grilling, dining, lounge, and co-working terraces. Green roof and bioretention planters are implemented across the rest of the exposed rooftop, facilitating rainfall absorption, filtration, and reuse. The plant pallet consists primarily of native species. The Earl and Fitzroy projects are LEED Gold certified.

Park Kennedy, Washington, D.C.

F: Located in the southeast quadrant of downtown D.C., Park Kennedy is a luxury apartment building that will serve as the gateway to the Hill East neighborhood development. The project includes the design and construction of an interior courtyard and rooftop amenity space. The interior courtyard takes its aesthetic from the surrounding building architecture, which includes a heavy emphasis on the site's industrial history. Materials were thoughtfully considered to marry the architecture with the landscape and create a seamless transition from the interior to exterior space. Fantastic views from this space pull people outdoors and invite them to enjoy the programmed amenities. A custom water feature, a bocce court, a fitness lawn, a custom overhead trellis, and fire pit lounge spaces improve resident experiences.

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