Located a long fly ball from Nationals Stadium in the Ballpark District at 1201 Half Street SE in Washington, D.C., the beautifully crafted 11-story West Half development encompasses 465 dwelling units over nearly 43,000 square feet of first-floor retail. The adaptation of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems to the unique shape of the building and goals for sustainability represent some of the accomplishments of this project.

Sustainable Design Elements

To assist in the sustainability of the site, a green roof was implemented with stormwater reclamation. Through this and other initiatives, West Half exceeds DC’s stormwater regulations. The green roof system stores and distributes rainwater for use in irrigation and supplements water to the cooling tower.

Acting as the energy modeler for the project, Kleinfelder demonstrated an over 30% reduction in energy usage below baseline due to an energy efficient envelope and the use of a high performing HVAC system. This energy reduction was a critical part of achieving USGBC LEED Gold® certification.

Quality Assurance and Materials Testing

While the “staircase” design of the building created a softer transition between neighboring Nationals Park and West Half, it also presented issues for mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems infrastructure due to the unusual variation in layout and lack of consistent vertical access. A solution was provided by carefully coordinating horizontal offsets and sloped installation of the mechanical and plumbing infrastructure to maintain system operating efficiency as it cascades through the building.

Electrical systems design included separately metered utility service for each residence and each retail tenant. An indoor, water-cooled generator was designed to provide emergency power to select loads, while minimizing the impact to the outdoor spaces.

Design-Assist Approach

The building’s façade is a hallmark element of the project with a highly terraced and articulated skin, accentuated with a combination of glass window wall systems, metal panels, glass railings, and balcony planters. Due to the building’s unique silhouette and design, the developer chose a design-assist approach, with the architect, engineers, and contractor working together to complete design of the project.

Project Results

West Half is LEED Gold® certified under the LEED BD+C: New Construction, v3 – LEED 2009 criteria. This project was also honored with an ACEC Metropolitan Washington Engineering Excellence Award (Honor, 2023), and an ACEC National Recognition Award by the national chapter (2023).

Project Details

Location:
Washington, DC
Owner:
JBG Smith