The new Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University embeds the

core values of public health—movement, light and air, greenery, connection to place, social
interaction, community engagement—in a highly unconventional, LEED Platinum building on an
urban campus in the heart of the nation’s capital. The building’s more radical features are evident in
section, where research offices, classrooms and study areas are clustered around an array of multi-
floor void spaces that open the building’s dense core to daylight and views. An irresistible, sky-lit stair
ascends all eight levels, encouraging physical activity. The building’s pod-like classrooms are set in
from the perimeter wall so that informal study and social interaction space can overlook the bustling
traffic circle.

Introduction

This new LEED Platinum certified School of Public Health, located on iconic Washington Circle Park in
the heart of the nation’s capital, is an unusual and innovative response to site. The project’s most
sustainable solutions are deeply embedded into its architecture, keenly demonstrating the symbiosis
between sustainability and public health.

The project’s central challenge was how to accommodate the program on an awkwardly configured
site without disconnecting occupants from daylight, air and views—qualities that have particular
meaning for students and faculty in public health. To achieve this, the design team extensively
manipulated the building section: while the required program would have fit on six above-grade
floors, the floor-to-floor height was squeezed to 12 feet and a seventh level was inserted within the
allowable zoning envelope instead.

This single move, only made possible through the optimization and integration of the building’s
structural and mechanical systems, was the genesis of an unconventional skylit atrium, in which
classrooms and study areas overlook the city through an open latticework of floor openings, inviting
exploration and discovery. An open stairway at the building’s center connects all eight occupied
floors, promoting health and wellness by encouraging building occupants to forgo use of the
elevators, which are screened from view.

Comunity

The goals of this project mirrored the mission of the School of Public Health: advance the health and
wellness of communities at the local, national and global level. Planning involved active and early
participation of students, faculty and administrators. Key components, such as features that would
make the building inviting to students beyond instructional hours, were identified prior to
architectural design through a rigorous, consensus-building process.

Given its prominent location on Washington Circle, many thousands of pedestrian, bicycle and
automobile commuters pass by the project site each day. The building is intimately connected to the
city’s public transportation network; the Metro stop one block away is among the busiest in
Washington. The building, which hosts a Capital Bikeshare station, also serves a very active cycling
community. In the midst of bustling activity, the project also created a quiet neighborhood park.

The building’s highly accessible ground-level auditoria and convening center play host to a multitude
of events with a wellness and health focus, drawing students and visitors from the city, the nation
and the world. The project’s nonhierarchical approach to program, which eschews conventional
organization of structured and informal learning environments, was conceived to promote equity
within this forward-looking academic community.
EKOLOGIJA

This project is an important part of the university’s efforts to restore the neighborhood’s natural
ecosystem. Prior to its redevelopment, the site was bordered by overgrown shrubs and modest
shade from street trees in decline. Stormwater from a pre-existing building on the site and its parking
lot was piped directly into the municipal utility system. The project’s landscape strategy focused
primarily on reducing storm runoff and improving the pedestrian experience.

Each side of the site represents a different urban micro-environment, and the landscape design
responds accordingly. Along neighborhood and campus edges, new street trees match the species of
adjacent blocks. Porous flexible asphalt paving was used to protect existing trees. A buffer of native
shrubs and small flowering trees between the sidewalk and building contributes to local biodiversity.
Benches are located around the site.

A small neighborhood park at the site’s southern tip, under a heritage white oak, was expanded and
incorporated into the overall landscape design, with planting beds and a stone seating wall. An
extensive green roof, with plantings adapted to the heat of the DC environment, increases the
vegetated habitat of the site. These measures form a biological ecosystem attuned to the harsh
urban climate.

Mandatory metrics

Percentage of the site area designed to support vegetation: 31 percent

Percentage of site area supporting vegetation before project began: 15 percent

Percentage of landscaped areas covered by native or climate appropriate plants supporting native
or migratory animals: 26 percent
VODA

The building and its landscape design manage site water in a number of creative ways. An extensive
green roof, covering 32 percent of the building’s roof surface, contributes to a 44 percent reduction
in stormwater runoff. Rainwater is collected and stored in an 8,800 gallon cistern located within the
planted park at the site’s southern tip. Subsequently treated and used for toilet flushing and cooling
tower make-up water, the rainwater harvest system contributes to a 41 percent reduction in building
fixture water usage.

The use of native and adaptive plants for landscaping requires little or no water once established.
Where appropriate, pavement area was reduced and replaced with planting beds to maximize
pervious areas around the site. Shade provided by ground cover plantings and trees reduces direct
sun incidence on exposed soils, maintaining soil moisture for plant health and growth.

Mandatory metrics

Predicted annual consumption of potable water for all uses, including process water: 3,903,065
gallons— 2,643 gallons/building occupantlons

For US commercial buildings, median water use per person can range from 13 gallons per office
worker per day to 315 gallons per hospital bed per day. US residential water use averages 300 gallons
per day per household.

Is potable water used for irrigation? No

EKONOMIJA

At the outset, the university’s LEED target was Gold. Gold remained the LEED objective through the
Schematic and Design Development phases, when the concepts and sustainability strategies
underpinning its unorthodox approach were conceived and developed.

Prior to the commencement of the Construction Documents phase, a new dean was named to lead
the School. Her conviction was that a School of Public Health ought to aspire to the highest standard
of environmental stewardship and sustainability.

At the university’s request, the design team undertook an assessment of the feasibility of elevating
the building’s LEED goal to Platinum, without jeopardizing either the completion schedule or the
basic rudiments of the design. After a thorough life-cycle cost analysis, the team determined that the
LEED bar could be raised by modifying a relatively modest number of building components and
systems. Slightly higher-performance exterior glazing was specified; a heat recovery chiller was
added; meters were installed to permit energy measurement and verification; and the extent of
spaces treated by chilled beams, already present in the project, was extended to more program
areas.

Even arriving relatively late in design, these enhancements represented only 1.9 percent of the total
cost of construction. The project earned LEED Platinum.

Mandatory metrics

Cost per square foot: $372

ENERGIJA

In its unusual organization of program, unorthodox treatment of building section, and selection of
building systems, this project eschews many conventional norms associated with a campus building
in a dense urban setting. The building’s most sustainable ideas, such as the hollowed-out central core
that admits air and light, are indistinguishable from its parti, structure, and form.

Smart systems are key. Major equipment includes a heat pump chiller serving the base cooling load
with heat rejection to the building hot water systems, as well as high efficiency chillers, pumps,
cooling tower fans, and boilers. A dedicated outside air system (DOAS), with dual wheel exhaust air
heat recovery devices, serves the majority of the building; it delivers outside air directly through the
building only once and is right-sized to provide proper ventilation, optimized via the use of CO₂
sensors. Chilled beams provide efficient heating and cooling without increasing the air change rate.

Within the atrium, classrooms are detached from the exterior wall and surrounded by a zone of open
interactive and study space. The study zone functions as an environmental buffer, tolerant of a
greater temperature and comfort range. The classrooms do not see load swings associated with the
building’s thermal envelope.

Mandatory metrics

Predicted consumed energy use intensity (EUI): 84 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Energy use intensity (EUI) refers to total energy use by the facility including energy purchased from
utilities and provided by onsite renewable sources.

Predicted Net EUI: 84.1 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Predicted Net carbon emissions: 28.2 lb/sq ft/yr

Net carbon emissions refers to net purchased energy use (total energy use, less any energy
generated on-site from renewable resources).

Predicted percent reduction from national average EUI for building type: 64 percent

Predicted lighting power density: 0.84 W/sq ft

Encouraged metrics:

Actual consumed EUI: 82.3 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Actual net EUI: 82.3 kBtu/sq ft/yr

Actual net carbon emissions: 30.3 lb/sq ft/yr

Actual percent reduction from national average EUI for building type: 65 percent

Resources

EPA’s Target Finder, AIA’s 2030 Commitment Reporting Tool, or the Architecture 2030
Challenge reference materials provide comparison baselines for energy use and convert utility-
provided energy consumed into equivalent carbon emission impact.
PROMJENE

The project incorporates a number of systems and materials that enhance its durability, versatility
and adaptive re-use. Flooring in the main lobby and public circulation areas is terrazzo, a highly
durable surface. LED light fixtures, whose lamps have an expected life of well into the thousands of
hours, are used throughout the building. Most interior spaces, including offices, open work areas and
classrooms have no built-in casework, and are furnished instead with movable stations and furniture.
This allows for reconfiguration over time without modifying fixed building components. Particularly
in the classrooms, there is a desire to maintain flexibility in the seating arrangement to
accommodate different pedagogies.

A convening center, comprised of four individual meeting rooms equipped with vertically folding
operable walls that retract into the ceiling when not in use, provides flexible space for public
outreach and community engagement. In a post-occupancy evaluation conducted by the design team
one year after completion, it was revealed that use of the flexible convening center, particularly by
groups outside the school, vastly exceeded preliminary projections.

Mandatory metrics

Percentage of project floor area, if any, that represents adapting existing buildings: 0 percent

Anticipated number of days the project can maintain function without utility power: 1 day

Encouraged metrics

Percentage of power needs supportable by onsite power generation: 25 percent

What makes a resilient building? Learn more in the AIA's Qualities of Resilience document.

ISTRAŽIVANJE

The design team has maintained a close connection to the building and its occupants since
construction was completed. Approximately one year following completion, a post occupancy
evaluation (POE) was conducted to study user experience. This evaluation included interviews and an
online survey, eliciting over 100 responses from faculty, administration and students. The survey
covered how the building supports public health, work and social activities, LEED awareness and
thermal comfort.

The team has also tracked energy usage since operations commenced, plotting it against initial
predictions. Sharp differences between modeled and actual energy consumption were analyzed and
eventually determined to reflect the building’s expanded operating hours, owing to its unexpected
popularity with students.

The building has drawn attention from the local community. There is great demand for building tours
and public events, far surpassing expectations. The project was also featured at the 2016 recent
TEDxFoggyBottom, capitalizing upon interest generated by the building’s unconventional design. The
building has also been transformational for the practice, drawing the attention of national news
media. In a December 2014 article, Philip Kennicott, Art and Architecture Critic of the Washington
Post, cited the project as an “exemplar of how architectural design and aesthetics can positively
affect human health behaviors.”

Mandatory metrics

Post occupancy evaluation (POE) summary:

The post occupancy evaluation focused on user experience and building performance. Over 100
responses were collected from faculty, administration and students. The survey topics included how
the building supports public health, how the building supports work and social activities, LEED
awareness, and thermal comfort. The POE revealed that key design goals were highly successful, and
also uncovered some unexpected results.

“What a wonderful motivation to walk up a few flights or more. I rarely use the elevators.” The
building successfully encourages movement and reinforces the mission of healthy lifestyles through
sustainable building design. 87 percent of respondents agreed that the building supported their
health more than other campus buildings.

LEED awareness is strong, but has room for improvement. 97 percent of respondents reported being
aware of the LEED designation, however their knowledge of specific systems varied.

Unexpectedly, temperature was a big issue for students—the majority reported feeling cold,
often year round, in the classrooms, auditorium, and study spaces. This is sharply contrasted with
the faculty, who generally felt comfortable in these spaces. In discussions with the engineer and GW,
the fine tuning process has continued, and the users are being further educated about thermostat
controls.