 Rendering of the completed 1800 F Street Modernization project.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is the landlord
for the Federal Government, with a total inventory of over 330 million
square feet of workspace for a million Federal employees in 2,000
American communities. As part of the agency’s Design Excellence
Program the GSA commissioned the team to modernize its National head
quarters building in Washington D.C.
Syska Hennessy Group is providing engineering design services
for the 1800 F Street Modernization project. The project consists
of the complete renovation and selective historic restoration of
the 700,000 SF U.S. General Services Administration’s National
Headquarters in Washington D.C. The building’s capacity and
flexibility will also be expanded with the addition of a 105,000
SF courtyard infill. The building will receive new and innovative
mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire-protection and technology
infrastructure to prepare the building for future use yet remain
sensitive to its historic nature. The project has the goal of a
LEED “Silver” rating.
Because the facility is listed on the National Register of Historical
Places, the engineering design is especially sensitive to the seamless
integration of building systems into the existing fabric. The project’s
design approach includes a focus on sustainable design principles
to make the best use of the natural features of the building to
promote energy efficiency. For instance, the relatively narrow
wing design, which was necessary in a pre-air conditioning age
for introduction of natural ventilation and day light, serves the
design team well in incorporating more modern natural daylighting
technologies into the project.
The electrical system will be completely replaced with new distribution
systems and equipment bringing the building up to the modern standards
required to support the building’s mechanical systems, high
efficacy lighting systems, life safety systems, and end user technology.
In addition, the facility will be provided with a new fire protection
and life safety system in order to bring the building into compliance
with modern code requirements.
The building will be fitted with a new central heating and cooling
plant so that the facility will be self supporting and no longer
require chilled water services from the adjacent building. This
will provide the opportunity for more control of the indoor environment
and superior energy cost performance for off hours operation. The
plant will include electric driven centrifugal chillers and district
steam, which will be converted to heating hot water and distributed
to floor-by-floor air handling units.
The HVAC system design is one of the first to incorporate the
GSA’s newest facility design standards including dedicated
ventilation systems and perimeter pressurization for the control
of moisture and elimination of issues related to mold and mildew.
Furthermore, the dedicated ventilation system will ensure safe
and effective ventilation control for all occupants of the building
thereby vastly improving the indoor air quality of the facility.
The newly modernized facility will provide a state-of-the-art
office environment for both GSA and other agency’s Federal
employees.
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