2020 PROJECT Award Winners

In 2020, the awards listed below were available for application by the USGBC NCR community.  Projects were required to be located in the USGBC NCR region, and where certification was required, projects were to have been awarded certification between May 16, 2019 and April 15, 2020.

Awards were not given in all categories.  This is done when there were no submissions, or were not submissions which met, in the judging panel’s opinion, the standard of excellence and innovation that the Leadership Awards are intended to recognize.

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NEW CONSTRUCTION - 2 WINNERS  

Description

Discovery Meadows is a two-story, 23,500-square-foot child development center designed to accommodate 180 children, from infancy to six years of age. The facility in Gaithersburg, Maryland, also provides after-school program facilities for 40 school-age children of the 4,000 employees based at this biopharmaceutical research and development campus. Play spaces surround the building footprint, providing age-appropriate play areas for each group of students. This facility was designed as a curving linear building facing north and south on the long sides, supported by extensive resilient features, starting with geothermally driven radiant floor slabs.

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The center is built with an upper and lower level, with the lower level providing three 30-student preschool rooms opening onto the lower level outside play areas. Each classroom throughout the facility provides student restrooms. The staff lounge, a warming kitchen, the after-school care area, a small library, mechanical and electrical rooms and office space are also provided on this level.

Size

23,500 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: New Construction v3 - LEED 2009 Platinum (81 Points)

FTE

162 children, 50 full-time employees

Daily Visitors

187

Project Team

AstraZeneca – Owner
DPR Construction - General Contractor

StudioMLA Architects – Architect
Macris, Hendricks, & Glascock, P.A. – Civil Engineer
Structura – Structural Engineer
Reese Engineering – MEP Engineer
Shapiro & Duncan – Mechanical & Plumbing Contractor

7group – Sustainability Consultant

HOK – Sustainability Consultant

WINNER - Capitol Crossing - 200 Massachusetts Avenue

Description

Project Team

Property Group Partners – Developer
GreenShape, LLC - Sustainability Consultant

Kevin Roche John Dinkeloo and Associates – Architect
Dewberry – MEP Engineers
Balfour Beatty – Contractor
Lee & Associates – Landscape Architects
Wiles Mensch Corporation – Civil Engineer

SBLD Studio – Lighting Design

Size

441,427 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: Core and Shell v3 - LEED 2009 Platinum (85 Points)

FTE

1,718

Daily Visitors

171

200 Massachusetts Avenue is the first of five buildings within the Capitol Crossing development in Washington, D.C., to finish construction and achieve LEED Platinum certification. The 12-story building clad in a glittering steel and glass façade presents itself as an imposing landmark in this "new" neighborhood, built atop a street-level platform partly constructed over the depressed portion of U.S. I-395, and partly over the "Underbuild" that houses parking, the concourse, and much of the equipment and infrastructure for the entire development.

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Capitol Crossing reintegrates existing land that was suitable only for vehicular access and transforms it into a sustainable, walkable, mixed-use community that will restore the urban fabric of the area as originally intended in the L’Enfant Plan. The high-efficiency building envelope, advanced energy recovery devices, water-conserving plumbing fixtures, extensive waste water reuse systems, indoor air quality controls and an expansive green roof all take the project beyond LEED. 

SCHOOLS  

WINNER - Bancroft Elementary School

Project Team

Ayers Saint Gross - Architect
JBP Engineering - MEP Engineer
SK&A - Structural Engineer
Wiles Mensch- Civil Engineer
Lee and Associates - Landscape Architect

PRESERV/scapes- Historic Preservation

ECS Capitol Services - Geotechnical Engineer

Polysonics- AV/IT/Acoustical Engineer
FDS Design Studio- Food Service
TCT - Cost Consultant

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger- Waterproofing

CORE Engineers Consultant- Code Review

Heller & Metzger- Specifications

Coakley & Williams Construction - General Contractor

Size

132,447 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: Schools v3 - LEED 2009 Gold (60 Points)

FTE

93

Daily Visitors

15

Description

Located in the District of Columbia’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood, the historic LEED Gold Bancroft Elementary School was renovated and expanded to accommodate 550 students. The project nestles into its steeply sloping site, celebrates the character and quality of the existing historic building, and connects students to nature with its relationship to Piney Branch Park. Primary circulation organizes learning spaces including the cafeteria, media center and outdoor classrooms as destinations along its path. Two new academic wings complement the scale and Renaissance Revival style of the adjoining neighborhood while providing daylit learning spaces and outdoor classrooms for environment-focused learning. 

RESIDENTIAL

Description

Studio 3807 is a mixed-use development in the Brentwood neighborhood of Prince George’s County.  This LEED Gold project includes 132 multi-family apartments, 15 town-home style apartments units that surround a 192-space parking garage, 5 artist studios known as the Portico Gallery, and a 6,300 sf. retail bay “Savor at 3807” which is home to a variety of pop-up food vendors, bar, and an event kitchen functioning as a communal food hall. along Rhode Island Avenue. Additional amenities include a fitness center, exterior elevated courtyard, entertainment kitchen, E-Lounge, club room, game area and dog wash!

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The basic design philosophy was to create a mixed-use residential building community that meets New Urbanism principles and provides an exciting building that is contextual and a symbol of Brentwood’s resurgence. Together, with The Artisan across the street, also designed by Grimm + Parker, the new area, to be known as “Artists Row,” forms the center of the Gateway Arts District.

Project Team

Landex Development - Owner

Grimm + Parker Architects - Architect

Hamel Builders - General Contractor

MaGrann Associates - Sustainability Coordinator

Century Engineering - MEP Engineer

SK&A Structural Engineers - Structural Engineer

Soltsesz - Civil Engineering

LSG Landscape Architecture - Landscape Architect

Size

256,099 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: Multifamily Midrise v3 - LEED

2008 Gold (79 Points)

FTE

242

Daily Visitors

212

RESPONSIBLE DESIGN

WINNER - Grass House

Description

The Grass House is the first code-compliant bamboo building on the East Coast, a compostable accessory structure and sustainable systems showcase built behind a restored 19th century Queen Anne Victorian house in Historic Anacostia. Utilizing natural, clean building materials processed with simple contemporary techniques, the LEED v4: Platinum Grass House proposes a contextual and healthy alternative to standard stick-frame construction. Tucked away at the foot of the Frederick Douglass House, in a neighborhood frequented by tourists but plagued by violence, the Grass House stands in the midst of a community that is learning about architecture and development in order to advocate for a better future for itself. The Grass House invites people to understand where a building’s materials originate, how they get to the site, how they are processed, and how they will be disposed of when the building is someday dismantled. 

Project Team

bld.us - Architect/Client/Developer

Artwork - Builder

JZ Engineering - Structural

George Worsley - MEP

Door - Fabio Designs

Steven Winter Associates, Inc. - Sustainability Consultant/Green Rater

Size

2,000 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: Homes v4 - LEED v4 Platinum

(80.5 points)

FTE

2

Daily Visitors

4

WINNER - NIKA Headquarters Building Project

NIKA Solutions Headquarters in Rockville, Maryland, was awarded LEED Platinum certification under Commercial Interiors in 2019. During planning, they envisioned a cutting-edge space that would inspire creativity, facilitate collaboration and promote sustainability. Every effort was made to thoughtfully design the space to support occupant health and wellness, to champion the most robust sustainability principles and accommodate evolving space performance needs. An integrative design approach enabled the team to meet Advanced Buildings Core Performance and Measurement and Verification Guidelines and to achieve 28 points under the Energy and Atmosphere credit category.

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The project achieved 36% reduction in lighting power density and has submetered all lighting and plug loads. The project team also worked with the base building to upgrade water fixtures to bring them up to LEED efficiency levels, enabling the project team to achieve 40% reduction in water use. Material selection was also a primary consideration. The construction team helped achieve 94% construction waste diversion and 10% recycled and regional materials, in addition to ensuring that low-emitting materials were used on the project.

Project Team

NIKA Solutions - Client

OTJ Architects - Architect

UL - Sustainability Consultants

Greenman-Pedersen, Inc - MEP

HITT Contracting - General Contractor

Size

19,060 GSF

Certification

LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors v3 - 

LEED 2009 Platinum (81 Points)

FTE

97

Daily Visitors

20

Description

No Award Made in 2020

WINNER - 1400 K St

Project Team

Brookfield Properties 
Sustainable Building Partners

Size

212,651 GSF

Certification

LEED O+M: Existing Buildings v3 - LEED 2009 (83 Points)

FTE

502

Daily Visitors

30

Description

The 1400 K Street project, a 212,651-square-foot office building, upgraded its LEED for Operations and Maintenance (O+M) certification from Gold to Platinum under Brookfield’s Volume Program. This project exemplifies Brookfield’s overall commitment to integrating sustainable operating strategies and ongoing tenant engagement. A rooftop beehive creates pollination opportunities otherwise limited in our urban area. The project achieved an outstanding Energy Star Score of 93 in 2016 and 2018, boasting one of the lowest energy use intensity values in Brookfield's Washington, D.C., area portfolio.

To take a deeper dive into tracking and monitoring, Brookfield incorporated the Arc platform into its ongoing operational analysis, with an aim to streamline future recertifications with LEED v4.1 under the O+M rating system. The Arc integration has evolved into informative discussions providing real-time feedback for sustainability strategies implemented at this facility. Brookfield continues to exemplify excellence through 1400 K Street and paints a bright picture for the future of our cities. 

NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT

No Award Made in 2020

CATALYST AWARD

WINNER - Co|Lab

Description

Co|Lab is a space dedicated to bringing ideas to life. It aims to serve as a hub for research and testing of emerging materials, approaches and technology that will rapidly transform the construction and real estate industries. The two-floor, state-of-the-art facility in Falls Church, Virginia, is LEED Platinum, certified under the LEED v4 rating system, and ILFI Petal certified. It also targets ILFI's net zero energy certifications with a focus on healthy, red-list-free material selection. Critical sustainable features of the project include the mass timber structure using cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glulam, a high-performance concrete rain screen façade, the roof-mounted solar panel array, and an ultra-efficient mechanical, electrical and plumbing design. The facility is the first CLT structure in Virginia, and is dedicated to setting a new industry standard for productivity and efficiencies, elevating the business of building, and engaging the next generation of builders with educational opportunities.

Project Team

HITT Contracting - Owner & General Contractor

William McDonough + Partners - Architect

Staengl Engineering - MEP

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger - Structural Engineering

Size

8,600 GSF

Certification

LEED BD+C: New Construction v4 - LEED v4 Platinum (80 Points)

FTE

10

Daily Visitors

20-30

PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD

WINNER - 1101 New York Avenue

Description

1101 New York Avenue is a 12-story, Class A office building located in Washington D.C. Built in 2007 and purchased in July 2017 by Oxford Properties Group, the building was the City’s first LEED Core and Shell Gold certified office building. Most recently, in Oct. 2019, 1101 New York Avenue achieved LEED v4.1 O+M Platinum certification. In addition to the Platinum designation, the building team has reduced overall energy consumption, including a $1.5 million kWh reduction, improving the buildings Energy Star score by total of 19 points in the last two years. It is also now home to the combination green roof and solar panel rooftop installation in the city. The solar panels are used to provide clean, renewable energy and cost reductions to low-income DC communities. Sustainability in building operations has been prioritized by Oxford and the building site team, with terrific results that Oxford is proud to celebrate.

Project Team

Oxford Properties Group - Owner/

Manager/Sustainability Consultant

Size

366,666 GSF

Certification

LEED v4.1 Recertification - Platinum (82 Points)