Atelier Manferdini has completed inVisible, a new facade for Dominion Energy’s Crystal Substation in Crystal City, Arlington County, Virginia. The Crystal Substation facade wraps the electrical infrastructure in ceramic tiles, anodized aluminum and programmable LED lighting, turning a utility building into a patterned landmark on its corner.
Dave Huh
The substation stands at the intersection of South Hayes Street and South Fern Street, where it was expanded and renovated to replace aging equipment, improve reliability and meet rising electricity demand. The new exterior was meant to give the facility a distinct identity while addressing how the building relates to the surrounding urban environment. Dewberry served as local architect and project engineer.
The design starts from something nobody can see, namely the processes of electricity transmission and distribution that happen inside the walls. Atelier Manferdini turned that idea into a facade organized in two horizontal bands, with a colorful, textured lower section set against a monochromatic upper surface.
The lower band is built from ceramic tiles in three sizes, 2, 4 and 6 inches, which refer to the voltage transformation carried out within the substation. The tile pattern was developed in Processing, a creative coding environment, and it uses ten colors with digitally scripted variations that introduce irregularities across the surface.
Read more:
- Room in a Productive Garden | Invisible Studio
- Aluminum Grotto and Public Ground Installation | HAS design and research
Above the tiles, folded anodized aluminum panels form an abstracted representation of the sky. Their geometry captures changing light and produces shifting shadows through the day, so the appearance of the facade varies with the position of the viewer.
After dark, programmable LED lighting projects changing RGB patterns across the exterior and alters the building’s appearance between day and night. The lighting extends the facade’s use of color and pattern beyond the permanent arrangement of materials.
For more background, see our guide to facade cladding materials.
Jane Doe is an American architectural editor with a deep-rooted passion for design and the built environment. She holds a degree in Architecture from Columbia University, where she developed a strong foundation in both architectural theory and urban studies. With over a decade of editorial experience, Jane specializes in shaping content that bridges architecture, urbanism, and cultural discourse. Her work spans leading design publications, exhibition texts, and digital platforms, where she is known for her clear, engaging narratives and her ability to translate complex spatial ideas for a broad audience. Jane is particularly interested in issues of equity, sustainability, and the evolving role of cities in a changing world.