U.S. Census Bureau Headquarters Office Complex

Our work on the US Census Bureau Headquarters at the Suitland Federal Campus outside of Washington, D.C. exhibits our willingness to go against the traditional market grain and look at systems unique to the market to bring more affordable options to the owner.

The Census Bureau project was procured using a design/build-bridging delivery method, based on bridging documents provided by a separate bridging team. Walter P Moore proactively explored alternatives to the proposed cast-in-place flat plate concrete construction typical of the local market and as proposed by the GSA’s bridging document engineer. Overcoming the challenges of a short (13’-1½”) typical floor to floor height, we developed an alternative structural steel solution that saved $9million over the proposed system and reduced the project schedule by several months. We also proactively evaluated an alternative hybrid structural system for the 3,000 car parking garage that we felt, due to the curved layout of the garage, would be more cost effective than the conventional precast scheme that was presented on the bridging documents.