New Outdoor Greenway along the Anacostia River in Southeast DC
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Inc (OvS), part of the SmithgroupJJR/Skanska design-build team, has taken an unprecedented approach to designing an outdoor greenway along the Anacostia Riverfront. The space, part of the new 150,000 square foot headquarters of the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water), is a vital component of DC's riverfront revitalization.
The new $60 million headquarters will be constructed on the site of the existing O Street Pump Station along the waterfront of the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington, DC and serve as the new public face for the agency.
As a nod to the utility's mission, OvS' design keeps water at a visual and auditory level – especially when it rains. Conceived as a functioning model of stormwater management, the facility illustrates the hydrologic cycle of storm events – from rainfall to collection, to treatment, to re-use. Surface runnels within the facility's paving channel stormwater to bio-retention swales, planted areas that are designed to remove pollutants and silt from surface runoff. Water that does not infiltrate the plantings is held in an underground cistern and used for future plant irrigation and to flush the building's toilets.
The contemporary architecture of the building melds seamlessly into this water theme. Architect SmithgroupJJR's six-story structure, clad in a series of green-tinted glass sunshades, is sculpted into fluid lines that respond to the adjacent Anacostia River's bending frontage. Though soaringly modern, the headquarters integrates seamlessly into the Beaux Arts façade of DC Waters' O Street Pumping Station. Designs have received the approval of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts.
The new headquarters and greenway are a part of the boom in development along DC's southern riverfront, including portions of the Potomac River and Washington Channel adjacent to the Tidal Basin and Monumental Core, and both sides of the Anacostia River.
The facility is expected to achieve LEED-Platinum certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. Construction is scheduled to be complete in 2017.
OvS, located in Washington, DC for over 40 years, designs world renowned outdoor spaces that meld art, design, and environmental sensitivity. The firm was awarded the American Society of Landscape Architects' 2014 Landscape Architecture Firm Award, the highest honor ASLA bestows on a firm. ovsla.com.
CONTACT: Marilynn Deane Mendell, 540.207.4045
SOURCE Oehme, van Sweden & Associates, Inc.
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