PROGRAM VS. CONTEXT: UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL BUILDINGS IN THE CITY

Institutional buildings are necessary in any community whether it is an urban or suburban setting. Typically, these are large program driven buildings that do not relate very well to their surrounding communities because they are often envisaged as large object buildings that create vast undefined spaces. In order to positively promote buildings that are beneficial to the urban fabric, institutional buildings must be studied as a contextual and space defining type instead of being an isolated object in an amorphous field. The institutional building type to be studied is the hospital because these are often large program driven buildings. The area of interest is southeast Washington DC and the site is located at the end of Massachusetts Avenue and 19th Street. This site is significant because of its accessibility and its larger impact on the healthcare network of the city