SmithGroup
Developer/Owner: DC Water and Sewer Authority
General Contractor/Const. Mgr: Skanska USA Building Inc. / Dale Kopnitsky
Photographer(s)/Rendering Credit: Alan Karchmer; Emily Hagopian
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The new LEED Platinum headquarters for DC Water, the sewer and water utility, demonstrates that modern civic architecture can be both beautiful and functional in its pursuit of sustainability. ©Alan Karchmer / OTTO
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The project—on the Anacostia River in Southwest, Washington, D.C.—reimagines an entirely paved, urban location and an operational water and sewage treatment facility, while returning the landscape to a functioning ecosystem. ©Alan Karchmer / OTTO
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A ground-floor exhibition space provides an educational forum to promote sustainability as essential design practice. ©Alan Karchmer / OTTO
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The building’s curved form and layered curtain wall is carefully articulated to optimize views, daylighting, energy, and the site. Bioretention plantings filter stormwater before it flows to a 40,000-gallon cistern that collects rainwater for irrigation. ©Alan Karchmer / OTTO
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DC Water Headquarters has become an urban icon on the Anacostia Riverfront, and a showcase for the utility. ©Alan Karchmer / OTTO
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Project Summary
The new headquarters for DC Water, the sewer and water utility serving the District of Columbia and several suburban jurisdictions, demonstrates that modern civic architecture can be both beautiful and functional in its pursuit of sustainable building practices. The project presented numerous challenges. First, the utility employed a Design/Build competition strategy and requested that teams work with a pre-set budget project area. Second, the site—a narrow wedge of land situated in the Anacostia River floodplain—is partially occupied by an existing pumping station, which had to remain operational during construction and beyond. The land, already owned and occupied by DC Water, sits at the center of an emerging mixed-use neighborhood. Third, a network of critical below-grade infrastructure could not be disturbed. Finally, considering the site complexities, the project budget was modest and reflected the client’s goal to have the project pay for itself through savings gained from the consolidation of multiple facilities.
The team turned each challenge into an opportunity to produce a distinctive, elegant building that embodies sustainable best practices, provides the highest quality office environment, and serves as a new architectural nexus for the neighborhood. What was once an unsightly industrial area is now a showcase of innovation for the utility; a ground floor public exhibition space outlines the building and site’s sustainable and resilience elements, as well as DC Water's operations.
Ease of circulation around the building was maintained, and a sense of transparency and views to the new landscape, which utilizes strategies to capture, absorb, and filter stormwater run-off, was created. On the roof, sculptural landforms recall the river’s landscape and support an array of native and adapted plants. Rainwater is collected and stored in a 40,000-gallon cistern and used for 100% of toilet flushing and irrigation. An adjacent esplanade accommodates groups for education on the regional ecosystem, and a previously built boardwalk along the riverbank allows pedestrian access to the south.
The building’s layered curtain wall is carefully articulated to optimize views, daylighting, energy, and the site. Parametric modeling enabled a hierarchy of glazing, metal panels, and punched windows that correlates to the sun exposure on each building face; only 40% of the exterior is glazed. At the south façade, each floor extends past the floor below, creating a series of overhangs. A second layer of tinted-glass panels, set over select areas, further reduces heat gain.
The project also features an innovative wastewater thermal recovery system, used here for the first time in a U.S. office building. It captures heat from the flowing wastewater in winter, while using it as a heat sink in summer. The device transfers heat between the wastewater piping and a separate clean-water loop that runs to a heat-recovery chiller in the building. The system reduces energy use for heating and cooling by 48%.
DC Water Headquarters has become an urban icon on Washington’s Anacostia Riverfront.The project creates a unique place that optimizes staff experience, functionality, and sustainable best practices, while serving as a catalyst for the neighborhood’s economic development.
DC Water Headquarters
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Local > AIA Potomac Valley > Commercial Architecture (AIA Potomac Valley)
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