AIA华盛顿特区总部节能改造项目丨美国华盛顿

AIA announces energy-efficient redesign scheme for its Brutalist D.C. headquarters

In an effort to bring the organization closer to its own self-stated goals on sustainability, equity, and collaboration, the Board of Directors of the

American Institute of Architects (AIA)

has today unveiled plans for a comprehensive new upgrade to its aging Washington, D.C. National headquarters.

San Francisco-based

EHDD

will lead the overhaul of the nearly 50-year-old

Brutalist structure

using the AIA’s

Framework for Design Excellence

to author a host of efficiency upgrades that are expected to save some 58% of the building’s pre-Covid energy use levels.

“[The] AIA’s headquarters should serve as an expression of the value architects provide and align with the values we uphold as a profession,”

President Dan Hart

explained. “We have a responsibility to redesign this iconic building to the highest standards in sustainability, resilience, and equity. By demonstrating the powerful role design can play in improving our communities, we can show how to take the action that is needed to move the needle on climate action and to make the built environment healthier and safer for future generations. In order to effectively advocate for these changes, we must start by taking action ourselves.”

The process will entail the installation of a new

high-performance envelope

, bird-safe windows, and an R-40-insulated roof. The building’s existing gas-fired boilers will be replaced by seven electric heat pumps, also at the roof level. A new solar panel system will be installed there as well. The AIA expects the systems upgrades to meet both LEED and WELL Platinum specifications, in addition to helping it accomplish the energy use targets set forth by its internal

2030 Commitment

.

Furthermore, the interior will be redesigned to eliminate hierarchical spaces and making executive meeting areas used by the board more transparent, democratic, and accessible to members of the AIA community.

Hartman-Cox

and

Hood Design Studio

served as consultants for the redesign along with six students from the organization's new

HBCU internship program

.

“We’re transforming the AIA’s home to better reflect the AIA of today and as it evolves into the future,” EHDD partner Rebecca Sharkey said at the end of a press statement. “We engaged with a wide range of stakeholder groups, including future architects for their insights, to explore a diversity of priorities and experiences. The new design imagines a holistic new vision that will be welcoming, inspiring, and engaging; a bold new symbol of the AIA’s values.”