DC INFRASTRUCTURE ACADEMY

Owner
DC Department of General Services

Location
Washington, DC

On the Boards
2022

LEED
LEED Gold targeted and Net-Zero Ready targeted

BELL Architects is proud to lead a diverse team of design professionals for the DC Infrastructure Academy’s occupancy of the historic Spingarn High School in the Kingman Park, Carver/Langston neighborhoods of the District of Columbia’s Ward Five. The A/E team includes VMDO, Nitsch Engineering, Wiles Mensch DC, Landscape Architecture Bureau (MKSK), Silman, CMTA, Polysonics, EAC/Archaeology, ECS Mid-Atlantic, and MGAC. Working with the Department of General Services and Brailsford & Dunlavey, the team created a stormwater master plan for the entire education campus and the adaptive reuse of the vacant Spingarn building. In January 2023, the project's preliminary design was unanimously approved by both the Commission of Fine Arts and the Historic Preservation Review Board. Smoot recently joined as the construction manager (CMAR). 

Infrastructure is a broad term that encompasses below and above-grade utilities, renewable energy and sustainable transportation. The DC Infrastructure Academy is a major initiative by Mayor Bowser to meet the growing needs in the construction, energy, telecommunications, road work and utility industries. As a forward-looking organization it has set goals to train District residents for good careers, addressing the city’s needs for ongoing and transitioning construction and maintenance. Referring to the requirements that are set to become law in 2025, graduates will be prepared to usher the built environment into a sustainable economy.