Thornton Tomasetti is providing structural design for a mixed-use town center development at Square 54 that will include residential, office, garage, and retail components. The 1.4-million-square-foot complex is being designed to meet LEED Silver sustainability criteria.

The office portion consists of a pair of 12-story office buildings totaling 439,500 square feet, over 565,500 square feet of below-grade parking, and will include 27,243 square feet of street-level retail. The two structures surround a landscaped courtyard.

The residential element is made up of two concrete-framed apartment buildings totaling 328,000 square feet. The 12-story structures will be situated over six levels of below-grade parking and will contain a total of 29,483 square feet of retail. Located near the Foggy Bottom Metro station, the project involves coordination with transit officials.

Thornton Tomasetti also provided building skin design for two structural-glass entry walls enclosing an atrium that links the two commercial buildings and leads from the street to the courtyard. Tension rods tie together point-supported glass panels held in spider clamps. Integrating the specialty structure into the overall design package allowed the client to obtain competitive bids for this system.