Van Ness Elementary School Expansion
The project was delivered as a Design-Build with Broughton Construction, and took part over two phases: Phase I installed temporary trailers; and Phase II delivered the rest of the scope. With the fast approaching of the 2021 school start date, the design team coordinated with the community, a CVS receipt length of regulatory agencies; all while COVID shut everything down and was disrupting the supply chains.
Client
District of Columbia | DGS + DCPS
Location
Navy Yard Neighborhood | Washington, DC
Project Type
Educational - ECE + Primary
Recreational - Field House
Project Scope
Addition + Renovation
Year Complete
2021
Scale
4,750 gsf school addition
4,480 gsf annex renovation
1,460 gsf renovation of Field House
Budget
$ 700 per sf (Construction)
AHJ Reviews
DCRA - Zoning, Structural, MEP + FP
DOEE - SWM + SRCs
DDOT - Curb cuts, street lighting + traffic
DC Water
DC Archeology
HPRB - Historic Field House + Site
CFA
ANC
Sustainable Target
LEED Gold (certification not required)
Project Team
ISTUDIO Architects (architect)
Broughton Construction Company (build)
AMT (civil + landscape)
SGH (structural)
GES (MEP + FP)
WSP (envelope)
ECS (hazmat + geotech)
ESP (it/av + technology)
EHT Traceries (historic resources)
MGAC (client project manager)
Contemporary addition for a growing community
While at ISTUDIO Architects, I led the design team for the expansion of the Van Ness Elementary School (VNES) campus in southeast DC. The project began in March 2020 with deadline for all phases to be complete by the start of the 2021 school year.
The school - originally shuttered in 2006 - completed a full modernization in 2016 by Quinn Evans + Whiting-Turner. But it supports a rapidly growing neighborhood; so an expansion was required within just a few years of reopening. This project is a case study for successful adaptive reuse, integrating a modern addition, preservation of a historic field house, delivering a project in a condensed timeframe during a global pandemic, and our teams’ ability ‘audible’ as market conditions changed.
The project was delivered as a Design-Build with Broughton Construction, and took part over two phases: Phase I installed temporary trailers; and Phase II delivered the rest of the scope. With the fast approaching of the 2021 school start date, the design team coordinated with the community, a CVS receipt length of regulatory agencies; all while COVID shut everything down and was disrupting the supply chains.
Phase II’s expansion included 3 separate buildings, each with their own unique code and design challenges: a 1-story 3-classroom Early Childhood Education (ECE) wing + rooftop outdoor classroom added to the existing LEED-S main building; conversion of a community health care facility into 4 primary classrooms (grades 2-5); renovation of the dilapidated historic Lincoln Field House; relocation of the existing ECE playground; and landscaping/storm water management (SWM) improvements throughout the site.
Coordination for multiple permits included a fast track for Phase I trailers, foundation to grade for the addition, and approvals from DC HPO, CFA, DC Water, DDOT, and DC Archeology. The project was designed to meet or exceed current LEED-S standard and DCPS 21st century education specifications.
The 4-classroom Annex - was originally supposed to be done in Phase I. But due to the pandemic, the city kept the clinic operating as a testing center. Our first ‘audible’ was to shift from the Annex to providing trailers. Once we had access, we determined we were able to add a 10 x 10 skylight at the heart of the building, bringing additional natural light to all the classrooms + dramatically changing the feel of the space.
The new 3-classroom ECE addition highlights thoughtfully integrated outdoor spaces that revitalize a previously disconnected school campus and created outdoor opportunities for learning. Interior spaces are day-lit and finished with healthy materials. Knowing that the community will continue to see density increases in the coming years, our team designed the wing for future expansion by structurally accounting for additional floors to be added. The rooftop shade structure was designed so it can be disassembled and reused when the expansion takes place. The design of the wing’s structure system was our second major ‘audible’. Originally, the framing was to match the existing school, but we had to change to standard steel shapes since they were what was available.
With a tight urban site, design of the SWM system was complicated since the 2016 project left the site in a deficit + required SRCs to be purchased. To reduce the SRC deficit, a green roof was provided at the ECE wing. At the request of DCPS, the green roof was adapted to provide a garden + outdoor classroom with a steel shade structure. Landscape design incorporates rain and pollinator gardens for outdoor education at the rooftop outdoor classroom’s planters. The rooftop garden and classroom is reached by an open stair and canopy wrapped in copper-colored perforated metal.
The historic Field House at Lincoln Playground was originally constructed in 1932 + had experienced decades of deferred maintenance. Extensive structural damage had occurred due to weathering. The small structure required structural replacement, hazardous materials assessment + remediation, exterior masonry restoration, window + door replacement, and (most importantly) roof replacement; all designed to replicate the historic character of the original construction.
Taking advantage of the historic construction techniques + applying the natural ventilation strategies of the barns I design, the renovation’s design enhanced the R-value of the envelope to reduce air infiltration, and incorporated natural ventilation strategies by adding ventilation channels within the ceiling at the underside of the gable roof + a continuous ridge vent. This establishes a temperature difference between the ridge vent + the interior of the space, allowing the building to exhaust air naturally.
As the world and AEC profession rethink enclosed spaces from the pandemic (now endemic) – Van Ness Elementary highlights robust exterior spaces designed for curriculum and flexible enough to adapt to the 21st century learning for staff and students. The Assistant Principal noted that the outdoor classroom allowed them to keep music class going during the pandemic as students could sing unmasked; this maintained the DCPS Framework for the Arts Learning curriculum component for the kids.
