Town Center East
Town Center East is a two-building apartment complex erected in 1960-1961 within I.M. Pei's larger Town Center Plaza superblock.
Text
The twin nine-story Modernist buildings of Town Center East, designed by I.M. Pei, face each other across a landscaped yard. The complex is mirrored by Town Center West on the opposite side of the original Town Center Plaza retail center.
The buildings represent one of Pei’s first forays into the use of structural concrete as an exterior material. The slender columns and carved slab-ends render a ponderous material into a surprisingly delicate frame for the extensive glazing, so that the whole appears like an almost weightless curtain wall. The towers are unusual in their inward orientation: end-on to the major street, they give the impression of towers in a park while maximizing courtyard views.
DC Inventory: June 27, 2013
National Register: January 15, 2014
