Awardee: New Construction $40 to $100M
Conway School of Nursing, Catholic University
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger
The new Conway School of Nursing building at the Catholic University of America establishes a prominent new campus resource along Michigan Avenue NE in Washington, DC. Replacing a former surface parking lot, the 102,000 SF facility provides state-of-the-art teaching labs, classrooms, offices, and collaboration spaces to support one of the nation’s top-ranked nursing programs and enable enrollment growth. The structural system consists of steel framing with composite floor construction supported on conventional spread footings. Long-span beams and a custom 5 ft-6 in. deep plate girder were designed to create a column-free 72-foot auditorium beneath four occupied floors and a heavy Spanish tile roof. Lateral stability is provided by a combination of moment frames and interior braced frames coordinated to fit the architectural program. The precast concrete cladding incorporates stone salvaged from a demolished 1924 Philadelphia church, allowing the project to achieve both sustainability goals and continuity with the university’s historic Gothic architectural vocabulary.
