PROJECT Social Security Administration Complex
LOCATION Baltimore, Maryland,
PROJECT COMPLETION DATE 1/15/2014
ARCHITECT AECOM
ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT
OWNER/CLIENT JBG/Baltimore SSA. L.L.C.
CONTRACTOR Clark Enterprises, Inc.
PHOTOGRAPHER
Robb Williamson
DESIGN TEAM
Irena Savakova, Werner Mueller, James Tilghman, Jon Miller, Christine Williams, Robert Allen
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT:
The new Social Security Administration (SSA) complex is sited on 13 acres in Reisterstown, northwest Baltimore. LEED-NC Silver certified, the project includes a two-building office facility comprised of 538,000 rentable square feet, a 1,076-car parking garage and service center. As part of Maryland’s Transit-oriented Development initiative, the facility’s siting near public transport is the catalyst in transforming the surrounding area by attracting new development, as well as building on the value of existing businesses and residential neighborhoods, thus establishing foundations for a vibrant community. GSA procured the project using a best value process, which champions design excellence. The result of a national competition, this project’s winning “Arc of Light” design brings light deep into the floor plates, while animating a central organizational spine that will become the community gathering place within the complex. The design balances light, form, space, and scale that are transparent in intention, efficient and flexible in planning, and holistic in the integration of the urban and natural environments. This site organization is driven by the primary circulation concept, which places the main or ceremonial entry at the northwest corner of the site, proximate and facing the Metro and future mixed-use development, and Wabash Avenue. Staff circulation from the parking structure to the building is direct and focused on the internal open space. Service trucks approach the site from Mt. Hope, at a lower level of the building and adjacent to the parking structure, with green screening. The new campus transitions scale from the urban edge to the natural features on the site interior, sloping down to Powder Mill Creek. The arcing volume of the higher building component located on Wabash Avenue grounds the building massing in the urban context, providing adequate scale and reinforcing the perception of movement along the busy street. Along Powder Mill Creek, the five-story building component presents a walk-out lower level to further this stepped transition towards the natural features of its immediate surrounds. The composition of overall massing reinforces the permeability and accessibility of the Campus, and serves as an energizing element of this east-west sequence. The design anticipates that future development to the west, allowing for pedestrian bridge connectivity over Powder Mill Creek. The organizing geometry of the plan is curvilinear: the softer forms, and implied motion of the plan support the transition from a transit-oriented speed and scale, to the natural features of the site topography. In parallel, a transition of building scale from the 7 story building volume on Wabash as an urban presence through the arc of the glazed atrium and the 5 story lower building volume makes a fundamental gesture to the site’s interior. The facility is designed to be a fully integrated living building system, a responsible contributor to the community, as well as an outstanding work environment. The design provides sound, efficient and flexible structural systems; a high-quality, attractive, and maintainable building envelope; and high-performance HVAC, electrical, emergency electrical, and fire protection/life safety systems, with flexibility to meet changing needs over the building’s life.
IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS
IMAGE 1 Metro plaza entry, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 2 Atrium view, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 3 Metro plaza entry and atrium detail, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 4 Atrium bridge view, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 5 Atrium monumental stair and living wall, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 6 Civic plaza view, Robb Wiliamson
IMAGE 7 Wabash street view, Robb Wiliamson
Media For Download
Project PDF
Social Security Administration Complex
Category
AIA Potomac Valley > Institutional Architecture (AIA Potomac Valley)
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