Plan
Through significant renovation and adaptive use, historic Carver Hall now provides 63 modern apartments at below market rent in a walkable, transit-rich district neighborhood while preserving the streetscape, history, and significance to the community. Designed by noted architect Hilyard Robinson (a D.C. Native and 1st African American architect to graduate from Columbia University in 1931), Carver Hall was constructed in 1942 to house single African American men who relocated to Washington to support the war efforts, and was later acquired by HBCU Howard University for student dorms. The U-Shaped building has centered columns appropriate for old-style single-room dorms, not providing adequate depth for typical kitchens, bathrooms, closets, and internal circulation. This forced an alternate configuration with “box car” wide rooms along the perimeter, and a corridor shift from one side of the column line to the other halfway down the wing. Storage and lounge spaces, partially buried at a cellar level with double-height ceilings and clerestory windows above grade, are converted to 14 new terrace-level loft apartments with bedrooms above grade and expansive 2-story living and dining areas.
