Johnson Avenue Loft

This is a loft in Washington DC, located on Johnson Avenue, which is a unique little alley/street running north/south located between 14/15th and R/S Streets. The orginal 1890’s structure started life as a glass factory which was converted to a truck repair garage in the 1940’s, when the 14th Street corridor became a regional center for automobile showrooms. (almost all of the significant structures along 14th between P and U Street were built as car showrooms) The building was converted to Lofts in the early 80’s, one of the first true loft buildings in DC.

I purchased the ground floor unit of this 5 unit structure in 2001 from a couple who had gutted the space and before renovations could commence had divorced. The space was completely raw, and while it was not only difficult to market, was nearly impossible for a buyer to acquire a mortgage on a space with no Kitchen or Bath. I had to pay cash to acquire the space, but it was a huge bargain.

My original plan was to flip the unit, but after nearly 2 years of renovations and additions I decided to live here. My partner Don was not initially eager to live in a cavernous loft, preferring something more traditional. Due to his concerns, and my own feeling that the typical “loft” concept as defined by exposed ductwork and overt industrial surfaces was not necessarily the only way to treat this space. I felt you could create loft-like interiors yet conceal ductwork and mechanicals and insert elegant finishes as well; all while revealing and respecting the original structure and keeping the space as open as possible.

The existing shell had fantastic space but many flaws that provided severe restrictions. The entire structure of the building is 3 stories to the rear, which was the original glass factory. In the 1940’s a large one story concrete structure was added to the front, and literally abuts the sidewalk. Our unit comprises the entire one story concrete structure with the exception of a corridor that leads to the rear part of the building.

The only window in the entire space was the original garage door off Johnson Ave. Mid way back was a spindly and tall spiral stair leading to a tiny “pop-up” on the roof. Further back toward the rear of the space was a very large industrial skylight the provided daylight, but no access to fresh air. In addition the skylight gave the effect of being at the bottom of an enormous elevator shaft. At the very rear of the space was a second garage door which had originally led to the rear of the structure.

The space has approximately 14 foot ceilings throughout, with massive concrete beams spanning from side to side. The original concrete floor was even with street grade at the front, and about 2/3's of the way back started sloping up about 2 feet to the rear. Nearly the entire roof was an enormous terrace. The ceiling consisted of a 9” thick concrete slab with 1” diameter re-bars running throughout.

My first inclination was to pull the front windows back from the sidewalk to allow for a small outdoor space facing the street. This gave us a little privacy in the front, allowed for some modest planting, and also provided a new larger window wall. Next I removed the large industrial skylight which had failed structurally and would have cost thousands to replace. Instead, I installed floor to ceiling walls of glass around the perimeter of the existing roof opening and created an interior courtyard which is open to the sky. Not only does this allow for operable windows to provide air flow, even though the roof opening is the same, there seems to be more light into the interior. Now, one can look outside without looking up into a shaft. This also gave us an additional outdoor space, which provides a visual separation of the rear bedroom area of the space without resorting to solid walls. In the evening with all the lights on, you can see through the outdoor area back into the interior of the rest of the apartment.

Since the concrete floor sloped up for about 30 feet at the rear, I installed wood platforms at different heights to accommodate the slope. These platforms also conceal all of the new mechanical, electrical and plumbing facilities. The additional floor height also seems to make the rear area more intimate.

The next major introduction was to remove 2 of the ceiling bays, a project which consumed 2 months of concrete demolition. By adding a second floor accessed by a dramatic curving stair we gained about 500 square feet of space encompassing a Master Suite with balconies overlooking the Living area below and providing direct access to the remainder of the roof terrace. While the addition did occupy some of the existing roof area, we still have a 30 foot by 20 foot paved terrace. The other main advantage of this addition was the provision of additional light into the main floor area, with 2 walls of floor to ceiling windows, daylight now floods the interior.

The various platforms help delineate the space while retaining the lofty openness. The initial view upon entering is of the sinuous metal staircase rising up into the 27 foot high Living area. The stair curves in plan and elevation, forming a helical shape formed by 2 steel beams which had to be welded onsite. The railings are horizontal metal rods. There is a mosaic tiled water pond beneath the stair.

The kitchen essentially overlooks the entire space, containing a 12 foot long granite topped island which separates the cooking are form the entertaining area. The kitchen is anchored by a 48” commercial range and flanked on either end by sub-zero units at each end. (a full refrigerator to the right and a full freezer to the left)


The interior courtyard is flanked by closets and laundry. The 2 bedrooms in the rear are separated by sliding glass pocket doors, which are mostly kept open, except for overnight guests. There is an all white bath off this area as well (my little homage to the Delano Hotel in South Beach).

The Master suite rather than being constructed atop the existing roof is nestled down between the concrete roof beams. I felt this kept the second floor stair landing from feeling to vertical and kept the space more intimate. We were also constricted on the height of the addition. To the front we could go higher, but at the back we were restricted to the height of an existing 6 foot high fence separating our roof terrace from 2 adjoining ones beyond. In order to get the required head room at the rear of the new addition, it was essential to lower it below the existing roofline. Because the area between the 2 beams was just not quite enough space to accommodate the Bedroom, Bath, Closet, Bridge and Balcony, the front wall of the addition projects beyond one of the existing roof beams, which resulted in a raised ledge. In the Bedroom this provides additional space (where I located a new fireplace), though while not providing more floor area, makes the room feel larger. Outside the bedroom, stairs up to the ledge provide access to the outdoor terrace, and a bridge area that overlooks the living area.