Climbing through the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University

Living up to its name, the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University in Washington D.C. exhibits sustainability and public health. The building's design, which was created by Payette and Ayers Saint Gross, ensures that occupants can enjoy open space filled with daylight and pleasant views. Completed in 2014, the project was recently named as one of the 2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects.

"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,” noted the jury. “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."

Scroll down for a glimpse of the project.

“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 Washington Circle Park, which isn't far from The White House.”

“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 building occupants to forgo using the elevators, which are screened from view. 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.”

“This new LEED Platinum certified School of Public Health, located on iconic Washington Circle Park is an unusual and innovative response to site. The project’s most sustainable solutions are deeply embedded into its architecture.

The project’s central challenge was how to accommodate the program on an awkwardly configured site without disconnecting occupants from daylight, air and views—qualities that have particular meaning for students and faculty in public health.”

“The design team extensively manipulated the building section: while the required program would have fit on six above-grade floors, the floor-to-floor height was squeezed to 12 feet and a seventh level was inserted within the allowable zoning envelope instead.

This single move, only made possible through the optimization and integration of the building’s structural and mechanical systems, was the genesis of an unconventional skylit atrium, in which classrooms and study areas overlook the city through an open latticework of floor openings, inviting exploration and discovery.”

Find more project diagrams in the gallery below. In case you missed them, check out the rest of the 2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects in the link below.

Images and quoted text courtesy of 2017 AIA COTE Top Ten Green Projects.