The Wharf

Project highlights

• Architects: Perkins Eastman
• Owner: Hoffman-Madison Waterfront
• Location: Washington, D.C.

The Wharf is Washington, D.C.’s first true waterfront neighborhood, and it takes a revolutionary approach to large-scale urban design by bringing the city directly to the water. Situated on the Potomac River along the historic Washington Channel, The Wharf spans 24 water acres and 27 land acres, all within one mile of the White House, Smithsonian museums, and the District’s numerous national monuments. Beyond reclaiming the District’s waterfront and revitalizing it for resilience through a pioneering sustainability program, the project has at long last completed the final quadrant of Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s famed city plan.

More than a decade in the making, The Wharf is a clear demonstration of thoughtful and innovative urban planning and placemaking, evident in nearly every component, from building designs and high-performance measures to the integration of technology. The project has activated a dormant section of the neighborhood and now draws residents and visitors through the city’s grid system and toward the water. Its architecture respects the form and function of the surrounding community as extensions of existing streets run through the site. The once grossly underutilized site, where previously only nine businesses and 193,000 square feet of built space occupied its acreage, now boasts 3.5 million square feet of mixed-use development. Among its spaces are four new public piers and more than 10 acres of parks and civic space.

Set back from The Wharf’s central promenade, a family of new buildings comprises the Southwest Waterfront’s residential and commercial district along Maine Avenue. The buildings all have their own distinct character and are staggered along smaller blocks to accommodate multiple entryways to the parks and provide optimal views of the channel. The project’s varied land and water functions work in concert to form a connective tissue that runs throughout.

The highly sustainable project has achieved LEED ND Gold, and all of its individual buildings are LEED Gold or Silver certified. Its design and construction also address the impacts of climate change, an important consideration evidenced by the approximately six-inch rise in the water level over the past 50 years, according to the official tide gauge along the waterfront. In addition, the project is a component of the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative, an ambitious plan to restore and revitalize the titular river. As such, The Wharf includes a 600,000-gallon cistern, permeable pavements, and substantial vegetative bioretention to mitigate pollution and control runoff.

Since its completion, The Wharf has been lauded by numerous organizations and has received extensive media coverage. It has also welcomed representatives from municipalities around the world and dozens of private developers seeking to learn about best practices before embarking on similar projects. Clearly, The Wharf is an international model of intelligent planning and implementation.