DC Water Headquarters

SK&A provided structural engineering services for the design of DC Water’s new headquarters. The stylistic, modern facility is located on 2.75 acres, adjacent to the waterfront mixed-use development, The Yards, and the Washington National’s baseball stadium.  

The new building is a six-story, 150,000 gsf steel-frame structure with a fluid form. The building footprint was carefully shaped to develop a unique, site-specific solar response and consists of full-height curtainwall on the south, east, and west sides to take advantage of the scenic views, and gradually shifts to punched windows on the less scenic north side of the building.  The structure consists of a framed concrete slab-at-grade with six levels (five office levels and an accessible roof terrace) of composite steel construction.

The exterior facades feature a glass and aluminum curtain wall system on the south facade, and a “variegated green rainscreen panel system” on the north and west facades.  The building was constructed around and above the existing “O” Street Pumping Station, which maintained full operations throughout construction.  Foundations for the structure consists of below grade transfer elements and deep foundations.  As part of the landscape design, an exterior boardwalk and metal grating structure was implemented over existing tidal gates.

New mechanical equipment support and an enclosure were added on top of the existing pump station building.  New openings in the exterior walls at the ground floor  of the pump station facility provide a visual connection to the pump room from the new lobby.

Additional project features include an entry court, interactive exhibit space, and a boardwalk along the south facade.  The mechanical systems uses the pump station wastewater for heat recovery and rainwater from the rooftop will be collected in a cistern to use for toilet flushing.