Plan
Slowe Hall, designed by Hilyard Robinson, a notable African American architect, was built in 1942 in LeDroit Park. The dormitory-style housing for single African American women supporting the war efforts, was named for Lucy Diggs Slowe, the first female dean at Howard University and the first African American woman to win a national sports title. After the war, it was acquired by Howard University for student housing. Recently, Slowe Hall was painstakingly preserved and transformed into moderately priced apartments, providing 101 well-located affordable housing in a transit rich, walkable neighborhood. Slowe has a figure-eight plan with two courtyards and nine different elevations on the first floor, which posed a significant design challenge. Built before accessibility requirements, the use of cumbersome mechanical lifts was necessary. The restoration improved access by replacing five of the six lifts with ramps and infill. The entry had numerous elevation changes and an enclosed stair tower blocked the view to the courtyards, an asset the team wanted to highlight. We embraced the opaque mass of stairwell by building onto it to create a larger gesture within the space. Slowe now satisfies a need for moderately priced housing in a walkable area, preserves a neighborhood fixture, and provides a sustainable future for a building with a meaningful past
