by William Lebovich
Building by building, Cesar Pelli is adding his touch to the staid architecture of Washington, D.C. In 1997, his terminal at Reagan National Airport, just south of the city, opened to rave reviews for its soaring, light- and art-filled bays beneath open trusses and for its dramatically silhouetted, metal-sheathed tower and terminal modules.
In the fall of 2000, Pelli's most recent challenge, the "new" Investment Building, opened to re-invigorate Washington's K Street. Leaving two historic limestone facades intact, he replaced the rest of the structure, providing the city with what may be its best interior since the Pension Building, now the National Building Museum, opened in 1887.
The original Investment Building was completed in 1924, designed by Washington's premiere Beaux-Arts architect, Jules Henri de Sibour. He gave the monumental facades along K Street and 15th Street elaborately detailed copper window architraves, stringcourses, cornices, and escutcheons.
