Adjaye Associates

Sycamore & Oak . Washington DC

Named for its location on the corner of Oak Drive and Sycamore Drive, Sycamore & Oak is a community-led mixed-use development in the predominantly black, primarily residential, and historically underinvested Congress Heights neighbourhood of Washington DC, incubating retail and food concepts that originated in the community and providing job opportunities to neighborhood residents.

The mass-timber structure is open-air with a featured canopy that offers protection from the elements and cultivates a sense of intimacy or ‘community within community’ when underneath. Punctuated by eleven strategically positioned skylights to allow natural light into the interior, programmed spaces, this 22,000-square-foot Retail Village offers wellness and entrepreneurial support services, food vendors, convening and event space, and provides a year-round community resource, retail, and cultural destination.
Conceived as entirely public space, the building is comprised of two main modules and rests on an elevated plinth that becomes a central gathering and performance hall, and event venue with a viewing deck into the multiple programs activating the site from the fresh food market, education and fitness centers, retail incubators to the outdoor dining. Designed and constructed as a kit of parts using a modular system and reclaimable joints, Sycamore & Oak serves as a model on how to nurture and promote local businesses in other underserved communities.

Sycamore & Oak lies at the intersection of economic development, community elevation and placemaking, material innovation, and planetary regeneration. Entirely constructed of 100% FSC certified, responsibly sourced timber, the retail village is the largest free-standing structure of this nature in DC.

Designed for durability, strength, and exposure to the elements, the mass timber construction
allows Sycamore & Oak to be a climate steward for a holistic future. It is a non-toxic, non-composite, durable material that facilitates fast and efficient assembly due to its simple construction techniques and standard sizing.

Aimed at supporting emerging Black entrepreneurs, the pavilion provides storefronts for 13 local, small businesses. The modular design features wall panels that can be removed and replaced, allowing for flexible use of the retail spaces as the businesses grow and transition in or out. In the spirit of inclusive development, local minority-owned businesses were engaged to build and support the project’s construction and operations.

The mezzanine serves as an inhabitable viewing deck furnished with outdoor seating options and planters to cultivate an intimate, tree-house like ambiance.

Sheltering the entire structure, the environmental canopy is conceived both as a device for collecting rainwater as well as an energy carpet using photovoltaic panels that collects energy allowing this infrastructure to strive to be net zero.

Opened in 2023, Sycamore & Oak serves as the first phase of the ambitious St. Elizabeths East Parcel 15 mixed-used development. Phase two will become the gateway to a revitalized St. Elizabeths East Campus, providing mixed-use commercial, retail, hospital, open public space, and residential development that leverages ongoing public and private investments in the neighborhood. This first-of-its-kind mixed-use development will emphasize exceptional design and local input to set a higher standard for affordable housing, job creation, sustainability, and community equity. In the interim, Sycamore & Oak is conceived as a temporary pavilion to stimulate inclusive development and community engagement on
the site for the next two-four years before being disassembled and redeployed in other historically underserved communities.
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