Anacostia's Grass House Hits the Market

• October 26th 2023

by UrbanTurf Staff

A property in Anacostia that includes the first code-compliant bamboo building on the east coast has hit the market. 

The colorful three-bedroom Victorian with the unique accessory property at 2126 15th Street SE (map) was listed for sale on Wednesday with Genie Hutinet of Coldwell Banker. 

The main home was originally constructed in 1892 and then renovated nine years ago by architects Jack Becker and Andrew Linn of firm BLDUS, who own the listing. The home flows nicely from one room to the next, with standout features including the dining room with an exposed ceiling and the renovated kitchen. The house is adorned with the artwork of local artist Rik Freeman. 

The real draw of this listing, however, might be The Grass House. 

Completed by BLDUS in 2019 for use as an office, guest house or art studio, the 750-square-foot accessory property built using bamboo behind the main house. While this is not the first property to be built using bamboo, BLDUS used bamboo panels from BamCore, which was the first American company to offer a code-compliant product.

The lowest level of the building consists of a large conference room with built-in wood shelving, exposed wooden beams, large below-grade windows, overhead lighting and interior stone walls. Thicketed willow branches serve as a divider up two sets of stairs and Anacostia-sourced mulberry and walnut were used to make the stair handrails and treads. The middle floor offers an entry and a kitchenette area with a sink, cork flooring and cabinet storage. The top floor acts as a loft and includes built-in desk space with wooden planked walls.

Nicknamed the Grass House, the building plays on the name of the Glass House, which was designed by Philip Johnson in New Canaan, CT and is known for its glass walls.

Photos courtesy of Trish Hamilton and Ty Cole. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/anacostias_grass_house_hits_the_market/21619.