Project Details
- Project Name
- Milken Institute School of Public Health
- Location
-
DC ,United States
- Architect
-
Payette ,Ayers Saint Gross
- Client/Owner
- The George Washington University
- Project Types
- Education
- Project Scope
- New Construction
- Size
- 161,100 sq. feet
- Year Completed
- 2014
- Shared by
- Hanley Wood
- Project Status
- Built
- Cost
- $60,000,000
2017 AIA Institute Honor Award Winner in Interior Architecture
One of the 1980s’ most notorious Wall Street whiz kids, Michael Milken, long ago left aside his Gordon Gekko image and embraced a different cause: public health. Over the last three decades, he and his family have given millions to develop new healthcare strategies, and their think tank’s most recent initiative has led to a remarkable new project: the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University (GW), a 161,000-square-foot facility by Boston-based Payette working with local firm Ayers Saint Gross.
The Milken Institute School occupies an irregular lot on one of the capital’s curiously wedge-shaped blocks, where Payette was challenged to make a space that could bring together GW’s disparate health programs under one roof. Making hay with the unusual site, the designers responded to the brief by dividing the program in two, placing administrative services in a bar to the west side of the building and classrooms along its curvaceous east façade. While they were at it, they tossed out the rule book for academic interiors, fashioning a series of pod-like learning spaces to accommodate lectures and smaller groups clustered around the eastern edge that afford lovely views of Washington Circle park.
The plan is perforated with atria—these lacunae foster social interaction and are punctuated by a grand stair topped by a dramatic skylight. In a deft bit of zoning interpretation, the building’s dense program was squeezed onto the site by reducing ceiling heights to 12 feet to create a seventh floor.
Project Credits
Project: Milken Institute School of Public Health, Washington, D.C.
Client: George Washington University
Architect/Interior Designer/Landscape Architect: Payette, Boston . Jim Collins Jr., FAIA (principal-in-charge); Peter Vieira, AIA (associate principal); Mark Bandzak, AIA, Cara Pomeranz, AIA (associates); Arlen Li, AIA (associate principal); Dan Russoniello, Assoc. AIA (designer); Mary Gallagher (interior designer); Brian Carlic (landscape architect)
Associate Architect: Ayers Saint Gross, Washington, D.C. . Adam Gross, FAIA, Jason Wilcoxon, AIA (principals); Jim Wheeler, AIA (chairman); Sam Brooke (project manager); Carolyn Frederick, AIA (senior associate)
Structural Engineer: Tadjer-Cohen-Edelson Associates
M/E Engineer: Affiliated Engineers
Civil Engineer: Wilen Mensch Corp.
Construction Manager: Whiting Turner
Lighting Designer: Atelier Ten
LEED Consultant: S.D. Keppler & Associates
Elevator Consultant: Zipf Associates
Acoustical/AV Consultant: Shen Milsom Wilke
Code Consultant: Rolf Jensen Associates
Fire Protection Consultant: R.W. Sullivan Engineering
Size: 161,100 gross square feet
Cost: $60 million (construction)
To see the rest of ARCHITECT's coverage of the 2017 AIA Institute Honor Awards, click here.
Project Description
From the AIA:
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.
2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Jury Comments:
As an urban scale project in the District of Columbia, this project focused on addressing stormwater on-site through a green roof and rainwater collection, achieving LEED Platinum certification. An innovative atrium design brings daylight into all floors of the building, which has a complex mix of labs and meeting/office spaces, encourages connections, and offers views.
