New NoMa housing for homeless veterans looks good while doing good

Permanent supportive housing doesn’t have to look gloomy, and Washington, D.C. is proving this. In May 2015, the city’s first permanent housing project, La Casa, won a 2015 Housing Award from the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

This Thursday, another architecturally stunning property made its debut, this time the John and Jill Ker Conway Residence at North Capitol and K streets NW. Washington City Paper reported that the project is the city’s first permanent supportive housing project for homeless veterans as well as the first of its kind in the country to have full-time Veterans Affairs case managers on site.

The 14-story project is composed of blocks stacked at oblique angles. When designing the building, Sorg Architects said in a statement on its website that there was an extensive use of glazing throughout to maximize natural light in common corridors.

The John and Jill Ker Conway Residence houses 124 units, 64 of which will be for homeless veterans and 60 of which will be for those who make no more than 60 percent of the area median income.

• Architecturally Distinct Building to House D.C. Homeless Veterans Opens in NoMa [Washington City Paper]