Robert A.M. Stern Architects Completes New School of Public Policy at Georgetown University

The new home for the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University’s Capitol Campus is the new academic hub for students, faculty, researchers, and the wider policymaking community active in the nation’s capital. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), the new 150,000-sq ft (13,935-sq m) building in Washington, D.C., houses comprehensive educational and community spaces. These include 20 classrooms, an expansive main commons, academic offices, a 400-seat auditorium, a large rooftop terrace with panoramic views of the U.S. Capitol, and a 280-seat venue. The School, devoted to addressing complex national and international challenges, is also a front-runner in sustainable leadership and energy efficiency, designed to achieve LEED Platinum certification. Not only is it a building that is responsive to its context and houses inspiring interior spaces, but the project also includes original site-specific installations by architect, designer, artist, and sculptor Maya Lin. The works situated in the School encourage building users to consider their natural surroundings.

RAMSA has designed the new flagship building of the Capitol Campus to be a contextual and coherent extension of Georgetown’s downtown presence. The school presents itself as a cube clad in stone, panelized metal, and glass curtain walls, engaging in dialogue with the form and scale of its neighbors. The façade is further activated by vertical fins and brise-soleils, which mitigate sun exposure, optimize thermal performance, and articulate the building’s façade with projecting lines that echo the uniform punched windows of the neighboring 500 First Street NW. However, the materiality is interpreted in a more contemporary language, as RAMSA’s carefully orchestrated interplay of metal, stone, and glass introduces new visual interest for the neighborhood.

In the interior, the School’s values and aspirations are reflected architecturally, creating spaces where students are encouraged to collaborate and traverse through the various programs, catalyzing an environment of academic innovation. The interior language is primarily shaped by the unique educational opportunities afforded by its location, namely its proximity to the nation’s premier policymaking bodies, such as the U.S. Capitol and the Supreme Court. The building’s design promotes organic interactions and chance encounters to foster a robust, interconnected, and inclusive academic community. Beginning in the light-filled double-height atrium, a “traveling staircase” connects the building’s nine levels. Instead of winding directly upward, however, this staircase traverses the building, requiring students and faculty to pass through various spaces when traveling to an office or classroom. This staircase serves as an architectural expression of the school’s connected community and resists the formation of academic silos or hierarchies within the building. As students move through the building, they are welcomed by spaces such as a 400-seat auditorium with broadcast capabilities and a 280-seat rooftop venue that can host leading policymakers and practitioners for important discussions related to national and international policymaking.

Maya Lin, who designed installations for the project, crafted pieces that relate to the school’s academic program and prompt students to think about their own geography, as well as consider its connection to the globe. The series, titled “Mapping Our Place in the World,” animates interior spaces and grounds occupants in place. It includes installations such as “Following the Potomac,” a ceiling-mounted composition of glass marbles resembling a bird’s-eye view of the Potomac watershed. “Whether Birds” is a series of weather-responsive pendant lights located in the main commons space that change color according to the presence of sun, clouds, snow, or rain. Furthermore, audio recordings of local waterways, wetlands, forests, and grasslands, made at various times of day and year, are broadcast through directional speakers above the primary staircase. In the roofscape, “The Sky Garden” offers opportunities for quiet conversation and respite with its elliptical pools and native plants while celebrating regional ecology and framing views of the U.S. Capitol. As the world becomes increasingly globalized yet polarized, the McCourt School of Public Policy provides its visitors with an experience that reminds them of the land they inhabit, urges them to share knowledge and experience, and fosters acceptance.

Project facts

Client: New York City Department of Design and Construction, Queens Public Library
Architect: Robert A.M. Stern Architects
Area: 150,000-sq ft (13,935-sq m)
Location: Washington D.C.
Code/Da: Jensen Hughes
MEPFP: GHT Limited
Specifications: Construction Specifications
Structural: Thornton Tomasetti
Sustainability & Lighting: Atelier Ten, USA LLC
AV & IT: SMW
Civil: Dewberry
Completion year: 2024

Top image © Francis Dzikowski, Courtesy – Robert A.M. Stern Architects.

All images ©Francis Dzikowski

> via Robert A.M. Stern Architects

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