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Collection by Megan Hamaker

Beauty vs. Politics: The Architecture, Art, and Design of Washington DC

In light of the government shutdown there has been a lot of negativity swirling around Washington DC. While the shutdown and threat of a crippled economy are very serious topics, Washington DC doesn't have to be all politics all the time. We thought we might take your mind off of it all for just a moment by presenting some of the incredible and beautiful architecture, art, design, and ideas to come out of our capital along the way.

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Jake and Pum started their company in 2003. She’s the Chief Creative Officer and makes the design decisions. He’s the CEO and handles the business side.
Jake and Pum started their company in 2003. She’s the Chief Creative Officer and makes the design decisions. He’s the CEO and handles the business side.
Daniel Pink and his wife, Jessica Lerner, have lived in DC since the 1990s, when he was a speechwriter and she worked for the Justice Department. They’d lived happily in a tiny colonial until their needs changed—they both quit their jobs to work from home, and they had three kids. They wanted a modern configuration, but, as Daniel puts it, “Most houses here occupy the narrow aesthetic band between traditional and ugly/boring.”
Daniel Pink and his wife, Jessica Lerner, have lived in DC since the 1990s, when he was a speechwriter and she worked for the Justice Department. They’d lived happily in a tiny colonial until their needs changed—they both quit their jobs to work from home, and they had three kids. They wanted a modern configuration, but, as Daniel puts it, “Most houses here occupy the narrow aesthetic band between traditional and ugly/boring.”
FOUNDING FARMERS While in Washington DC we popped into Founding Farmers, the District’s only LEED Gold certified restaurant and bar.
FOUNDING FARMERS While in Washington DC we popped into Founding Farmers, the District’s only LEED Gold certified restaurant and bar.
David Mazza, 30, and Casey Patten, 28, best friends since middle school, opened Taylor Gourmet, a Philadelphia-style deli and gourmet Italian market, at the end of 2008, in the ground floor of a three-story brick building at 1116 H Street NE. In the salad days before the ’68 riots, 1116 had housed a bakery, but since then it has played home to a hair salon, a crack house, and, for a time, just the rats and pigeons.
David Mazza, 30, and Casey Patten, 28, best friends since middle school, opened Taylor Gourmet, a Philadelphia-style deli and gourmet Italian market, at the end of 2008, in the ground floor of a three-story brick building at 1116 H Street NE. In the salad days before the ’68 riots, 1116 had housed a bakery, but since then it has played home to a hair salon, a crack house, and, for a time, just the rats and pigeons.
KOGOD COURTYARD AT THE SMITHSONIAN The Smithsonian's Kogod Courtyard, built in 2007 as a modern complement to the nineteenth-century museum's Greek Revival–style architecture, is an oasis in downtown Washington, DC.
KOGOD COURTYARD AT THE SMITHSONIAN The Smithsonian's Kogod Courtyard, built in 2007 as a modern complement to the nineteenth-century museum's Greek Revival–style architecture, is an oasis in downtown Washington, DC.
Installation view of Ai Weiwei: According to What? at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., 2012. Photo by Cathy Carver.
Installation view of Ai Weiwei: According to What? at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C., 2012. Photo by Cathy Carver.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (AIA) Based in Washington, D.C., the AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS (AIA) Based in Washington, D.C., the AIA has been the leading professional membership association for licensed architects, emerging professionals, and allied partners since 1857.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS (ASID) Founded in 1975, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the oldest and largest professional organization for interior designers. The Society’s 16,000 practicing interior designers work in all areas of commercial and residential design.
AMERICAN SOCIETY OF INTERIOR DESIGNERS (ASID) Founded in 1975, the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) is the oldest and largest professional organization for interior designers. The Society’s 16,000 practicing interior designers work in all areas of commercial and residential design.
Eli Meir Kaplan/Wonderful Machine for Dwell The home of Daniel, Sofia, Aliza, and Saul Pink and Jessica Lerner on Friday, June 22 in Washington, DC.
Eli Meir Kaplan/Wonderful Machine for Dwell The home of Daniel, Sofia, Aliza, and Saul Pink and Jessica Lerner on Friday, June 22 in Washington, DC.
Takagi's Washington DC studio "is basically just part of my house." Amidst the various stages of 3D models and prototypes, "I'd say I don't make that much of a mess."
Takagi's Washington DC studio "is basically just part of my house." Amidst the various stages of 3D models and prototypes, "I'd say I don't make that much of a mess."