building wraps make good neighbors

Crystal City, Virginia

Situation

JBG Smith Properties Inc. purchased four aging buildings in the Arlington County neighborhood south of D.C. with plans to eventually rebuild. To add some zing to the drab, midcentury buildings and to impress tenants that improvement efforts were moving forward, JBG Smith reached out to Britten with a plan to wrap each 12- to 14-stories-high building from top to bottom with translucent mesh renderings of popular art.

Solution

The project succeeded in delighting residents, delivering vibrant color to the neighborhood, and making good on JBG Smith’s primary goal. “In our world of development, things take a long time from conception to design to getting approval,” said JBG Smith’s Brian Coulter. “We have some great plans. In the meantime, [building wraps] demonstrate [our] commitment to change…”

Impact

Britten’s expertise in super-large-scale printing and fabrication delivered four wraps in about two months­—a total of 329,808 square-feet of material—printed, shipped and hung by a dedicated installation team. The durable wraps attached by anchor bolts to the buildings’ concrete exterior and are expected to stand until the structures are eventually demolished and rebuilt.