Social Security Administration $140M renovation project incorporates many green building practices
by the GSA Public Buildings Service Mid-Atlantic Region
GSA’s Social Security Administration (SSA) Operations Building Renovation Project
The Social Security Administration (SSA) Operations Building, one of nine buildings on the SSA Headquarters Campus in Woodlawn, MD, is in the closing stages of a $140 million renovation project that incorporated innovative and repeatable, sustainable and “green” building practices.
The project was substantially complete in September 2007, and included the replacement of a majority of the building systems:
- facades (including new windows),
- roofing systems,
- interior finishes,
- mechanical systems (including HVAC systems (heating, ventilating and air conditioning)),
- building automation system,
- power distribution,
- branch circuit wiring,
- emergency power,
- lighting,
- LAN/WAN (computer network designs – Local Area Network/Wide Area Network),
- telephone and data lines,
- fire protection branch piping and heads,
- domestic water distribution, and
- green landscaping (minimizes harm to the environment and conserves natural resources).
The Operations building renovation design began in 1996 and the team began their work incorporating sustainable design as a cornerstone before the General Services Administration (GSA) required LEED© (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for construction projects–before the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) even implemented the LEED© certification program! The project team’s foresight into the building industry’s direction toward sustainability has allowed this project and team to serve as trailblazers in sustainable construction, not only for the GSA Mid-Atlantic Region, but for the agency as a whole.
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GSA, SSA, and all contracting parties worked together in an effort to provide the Operations Building tenants a facility that not only meets operational requirements, but is also environmentally friendly. This is the third building on the SSA Campus, and part of the SSA Master Plan that will achieve LEED© certification since 2002. The predecessors – the Annex Building Renovation and the new Child Care Center – were the first and third GSA buildings nationally to receive LEED© certification, helping to develop the standards now required for GSA construction projects. Sustainability is a way of life on the SSA Headquarters Campus, and has been facilitated through this project team.
For the Operations Building renovation, more than $31 million in post-consumer and post-industrial recycled content building materials were purchased for this renovation project, including recycled content furniture and certified wood products. By incorporating construction materials recycling, the project diverted 71 percent of construction waste from going to a landfill. By featuring daylighting throughout the space, purchasing green power (electricity generated from “green” sources such as solar or wind), and educating current and future tenants about the advantages of being environmentally responsible, the project team delivered a building that is 15 percent more energy efficient than traditional industry-accepted building standards would anticipate. This all helps to contribute to the building as an inviting, healthier, and more productive working environment. Through these efforts, the Operations Building project is in line to achieve a LEED© Certified rating.
The success of this Operations Building Renovation for the SSA was truly a team endeavor. The myriad of issues and challenges associated with achieving LEED© certification were minimized with the partnering effort to achieve our common goals. The entire team’s dedication, drive, and determination serves as an innovative playbook for future projects to emulate.
Contact:
Kyle Assed
Communications Specialist
Public Buildings Service
Mid-Atlantic Region
U.S. General Services Administration
kyle.assed@gsa.gov
