American Geophysical Union

American Geophysical Union

Application: Interiors

Building Type: Class A Office

In 2017 the American Geophysical Union board of directors agreed to move forward with a major renovation of their DC headquarters to become the first Net Zero commercial building. This massive challenge was led by the design firm Hickok Cole Architects creating a model for the district and the country and sustainable design. The District of Columbia has a wealth of quality existing buildings, many of which have become very inefficient in energy and resource consumption by today’s standards. While the building was constructed in 1993, the AGU took on this project to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and to reduced fossil fuel consumptions. This has become one of the most innovative, high-performance commercial buildings in DC incorporating a bevy of sustainable solutions including continuous air barrier & thermal barrier building envelop, solar rooftop panels, innovative water resource recovery, solar shading, triple pane glass and a host of other design strategies.

The AGU worked with Hickok Cole to develop a state-of-the-art collaborative environment to create a welcoming collaborative environment to foster open exchange of scientific discovery focused on Earth and space sciences. One of the major design elements in the main lobby and corridor areas is the use of Thin Set Terrazzo Flooring. The earth tone blends create a warm palette of browns and harvest tones of terrazzo mixes compliment this collaborative mission. Terrazzo is the perfect sustainable choice in high traffic areas as the floors will provide lifetime service and the absolute lowest maintenance finish of any hard surface flooring. Terrazzo finishes have over two thousand years of history of performance and beauty providing great value in a project of this scope and mission. The compass north logo at the main reception desk incorporated water jet cut marble and granite precision cut to fit into the logo pattern.

A list of the multitude of sustainable design elements adopting by the client can be found in the following press release: https://hickokcole.com/american-geophysical-union-press-release/