PROJECT National Science Foundation Headquarters

LOCATION  Alexandria, Virginia US

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  8/1/2017

ARCHITECT WDG Architecture

ASSOCIATED ARCHITECT  

OWNER/CLIENT Owner: National Science Foundation Headquarters; Developer: LOWE

CONTRACTOR / CONSTRUCTION MANAGER  Balfour Beatty / Alex Palacios

PHOTOGRAPHER  © Maxwell MacKenzie exteriors / Ron Blunt interiors

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  Steven Schwartman, AIA; Eric Liebmann, AIA

SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Headquarters relocated in 2017 to the heart of Hoffman Town Center, a 56-acre urban core in Alexandria, Virginia, adjacent to the Eisenhower Avenue Metro Station and within three blocks of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office campus and the U.S. Federal District Courthouse. The commercial development consists of two interconnected office towers, yielding approximately 690,000 SF of net rentable office area. The first tower is 19 stories high, at 250 feet, and the second rising 14 stories high at 200 feet. The project includes a three level below grade parking garage, accommodating 380 cars, as well as 30,000 square feet of street level retail.

The project was originally designed and entitled in 2004 as a smaller two tower speculative office development linked by a common lobby. To address the criteria of the GSA solicitation for a new headquarters for NSF, the project was increased by five levels and the two separate towers were linked through the fourteenth floor.

The design adheres to guidelines established in the East Alexandria Small Area plan which mandates buildings be designed with contemporary architectural expression reflecting the classical context, including a projecting base between 50 and 75 foot, vertically oriented punched opening expression, and a predominantly masonry skin with less than 50% glazing.

The project’s dynamic massing features complex curved facades toward the southeast, shaped by the geometry of Eisenhower Avenue as it is acutely intersected by the Metro rail tracks. At the base along Eisenhower, five story retail “boxes” stand proud of the curved facades above, reestablishing the street line and maintaining a pedestrian scale.

The rectilinear north and west facades, facing the existing retail and cinema complex, are finished in brick masonry and two colors of precast concrete, in a two-story punched opening configuration, compatible in proportion and materiality with the broader historic environment. The two towers are linked by a 36-foot-wide glass and metal connector, with the commercial lobby centrally accessed at its base.

Building economies were realized by establishing a repetitive unitized skin, with both “curtain wall” and punched opening facades formed in precast concrete with metal and glass infill. With the exception of the retail “boxes“ all masonry is thin brick.

A broad concourse type lobby addresses the necessity for two major entry points, a prime Metro accessible entry toward the south along Eisenhower and a second entry to accommodate those arriving from the 2,100 public car garage to the north. A dedicated NSF visitors’ center is accessed through the south entry vestibule to accommodate up to 2000 visitors within a single day. In support of their commitment to sustainability, the building features high efficiency envelope and building energy management system to facilitate analysis and optimize performance.

MEDIA FOR DOWNLOAD
Project/Jury PDF

IMAGE CAPTIONS & CREDITS

IMAGE 1  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 2  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 3  National Science Foundation Headquarters Ron Blunt Photography

IMAGE 4  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 5  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 6  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 7  National Science Foundation Headquarters © Maxwell MacKenzie Photography

IMAGE 8