The Facades+ conference series returns to Washington, D.C. on March 20. The event will take place at the Washington Plaza Hotel in the heart of the nation’s capital.
The one-day symposium will be led by co-chairs Jason Wright, principal at Hickok Cole; and Thomas Corrado, associate principal at Hickok Cole. The event will feature eight expert-led presentations. Throughout the day attendees can plan to connect with peers in the AEC industry and expand their professional network. The symposium will also host a Methods & Materials exposition hall, where attendees can speak directly with representatives that can help specify products for upcoming projects.
Reclad Repositioning: 20 Mass Avenue
The day kicks off with a spotlight on the mixed-use development located at 20 Massachusetts Avenue, just three minutes from Union Station in Washington, D.C. The original facade was opaque and dominating. The new envelope boasts a sleek, minimalistic glass facade that cascades downwards and reflects its surroundings. Originally the building was a seven-story government office building. It has been transformed into a ten-story mixed-use development that includes the The Royal Sonesta Hotel, new office space, retail, restaurant, and an amenities penthouse. These programs wrap around a new 10-story central atrium that brings your eye upward toward the sky and promotes a more seamless indoor-outdoor connectivity. Project architects from LEO A DALY, Janki Bhatia and Andrew Graham, will walk attendees through the building’s design intent. Paul Totten, a facade consultant from WSP, will get into the nitty-gritty on what went into the facade and detailing. Thilo Wilhelmsen of DPR Construction will offer insight into the collaboration involved in realizing the exemplary adaptive reuse project.
Design Excellence and Envelope Performance
The day’s program will also include an informative presentation from Jason Danielson, GSA’s building envelope leader. He will detail the GSA’s approach to envelopes and its many programs such as the P100, GSA BECx, Design and Construction Excellence that were created to better work with architects and contractors. High-performing and resilient envelopes are key parts to the GSA’s stewardship of federal properties.
The National Geographic Headquarters New Public Plaza-Facing Facade
Another case study presentation takes a close look at the National Geographic Headquarters. It is currently under construction and expected to complete in late 2025. The headquarters renovation capitalizes on the underutilized back entry. The design and construction implements a number of state-of-the-art building technologies, among these parametric modeling and a nighttime show on the building facade made possible by electrochromic glass. The design of a new pavilion ties with the facade in the revitalized plaza. Tom Corrado, associate principal at Hickok Cole, will lead a panel on several of these innovative applications. The panel includes Mark Ramirez, principal and project director at Hickok Cole; Colin Davis, associate and project architect at Hickok Cole; and Brian Lantz, project executive at HITT Contracting.
Sustainable Practices: In Conversation with Contractors
A panel with the leading contractors from the area will foster space for an informative conversation between architects and contractors. Molly Raglani, vice president of Clark Construction; Isaiah Walston, director of sustainability at HITT; and Brian DeWitt, division vice president of Whiting-Turner Contracting Company will have a conversation on the trajectory of construction and fabrication, including new trends in technology, sustainability, and circularity. As a significant driver of energy consumption and operational carbon, the building envelope is at the forefront of every green-building project. This roundtable will propose practical solutions for envelope efficiency that attendees will be able to implement in their own practice.
The Story of The Stacks
In the afternoon, expect a presentation on The Stacks, a mixed-use development in D.C. set in the heart of the iconic Buzzard Point district. Hear from P. Christian Bailey, the director of Morris Adjmi; Jeffrey Kerr, the building technology division head of Simpson Gumpertz & Heger; and Andrew Christopher from the real estate developer firm Akridge on the large project conceived for human scale. The scale and complexity of the development is unique because of the parallel construction effort and coordination among team members required to realize two buildings on the site. The presentation will walk attendees through the winding corso through a neighborhood of sophisticated walk-up maisonettes, inviting boutique retail, and incredible views of the city and the water.
Heliomorphic Design for the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus
For the final presentation of the day, Dongyeop Lee, co-leader of computational design at SmithGroup; and Peter He, associate at SmithGroup will present their technology-forward and sustainable work for Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus Academic Building (ICAB). ICAB will be the centerpiece of a new campus in Northern Virginia. Its facade is fundamentally heliomorphic, shaped by solar movement for daylighting, heat gain reduction, and photovoltaic power generation. The building mass is faceted, informed by a generative algorithm that utilizes AI processes for analysis. Each facet was optimized for daylighting, glare, views, heat gain, PV power generation, and urban form.
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