Outerbridge Horsey Associates, PLLC

For 50 years, the Georgetown University Alumni House has occupied five two-story townhouses at the corner of 36th and O Street. They were awkwardly connected around a large, unused multilevel open space. While having been renovated entirely the facility retains 75% of the existing masonry walls in agreement with the DC Historic Preservation Office. Conceived as “a home away from home” for alumni, the project reconfigured the interiors of the five townhouses to create a single, coherent building containing meeting rooms, a library, social spaces, and offices arranged to maximize daylight and views. The new focus of the Alumni House is the courtyard-style garden with fountain, harmonizing the many previous levels into one, to seamlessly integrate with the adjacent interior spaces. The remaining five original windows were restored and reused; all other windows were replaced with historically correct fenestration to match. In addition to restoring historic elements, the project is now in compliance with building codes and ADA standards. New finishes, paneling and wood trim, stairways and an elevator, as well as lighting and mechanical systems provide that feeling of “home away from home.”