National Center for Climate and Weather Prediction

The circular drop-off area in front of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration complex in College Park, Maryland has 4-inch "gray granite cobbles' laid in a radial pattern. Based on durability, economics and flexibility of material, 4 x 8-inch grey and white concrete pavers in a herringbone pattern dominate the main pedestrian entrance plaza of the building. Where the two colors meet, a row of soldier course pavers creates a crisp transition from one color to the other. The plaza is bookended along the building and just behind the bollards at the drop off with 18 by 30-inch green slate pavers. Purple love grass and a sedum mix are growing on the berms. Base-level groundcovers are liriope and cotoneaster; the youthful trees are honeylocusts.

The locally sourced fieldstone retaining wall is dry-set and allows the vehicular drop-off to be level with the building's entrance.

In 2005, the General Services Administration (GSA) held a design competition for the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) complex. A team of HOK landscape architects, architects, and planners collaborated to develop the competition-winning entry, a plan in lockstep with the climatic and environmental mission of NOAA, while accommodating the functional needs of its new complex. Located on a 10-acre parcel adjacent to the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., the new facility is intended to foster synergy between university researchers and NOAA staff.

The NOAA mission statement is "To understand and predict changes in earth's environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation's economic, social and environmental needs." The design of the new National Center for Climate and Weather Prediction (NCCWP) does much more than just attempt to reduce the center's impact on the environment, even though it is currently on target to achieve a LEED???(R)???AE???? 2.2 Gold rating. The design of the facility aspires to become a physical embodiment of man's relationship to climate and nature. Natural systems do not operate in straight lines and thus the proposed site plan and building are aligned in a series of curving forms, suggestive of rippling waves of water or a bird's bowed wings.

Context
Although the site is a secured, gated compound, the presence of two large woodland preserve areas lessens the sense of containment and provides pleasant outdoor spaces. The larger of the two wooded areas is a stand of mature, mixed hardwood forest over 100 feet deep along the northern edge of the property. The second area is a wooded buffer along the southwest edge of the property that parallels the building fa?????ade, which helps shade the building and landscape from direct sun during the afternoon. The site is also near parklands of wooded seasonal stream valleys and wetlands.

One of the bigger project challenges was how to create a special outdoor environment within a greater context of a traditional office park. By preserving as much existing perimeter vegetation as possible, the site design visually buffers the surrounding office buildings and allows a pure user experience of the landscape composition.

Parking Structure
The parking garage and surface parking areas are on the east side of the site, which limits most of the vehicular traffic to the area closest to the site entry, and reserves the majority of the site for pedestrian use. The parking structure steps down in height from four levels to two levels at the point where it becomes closer to the building to reduce its visual impact, and to avoid blocking views toward the surrounding forest pockets from the building. Structured parking provides space for 650 vehicles, while surface spaces will accommodate an additional 50 vehicles.

Water/Water Sensitive Design-Hardscapes
The site is designed to showcase water and water-sensitive design. These water concepts are expressed in the site's hardscapes and the softscapes. At the building's entry court, waves of contrasting colored concrete paver fields extend from forms in the adjacent planting mounds into the paving surface. Concrete pavers (4"x8") are set over a bituminous base in herringbone patterns. When the two differing colors meet, a row of soldier course pavers creates a crisp transition from one color to the other. An area of green-colored slate paving mortared over a concrete base in a running bond pattern mediates between the concrete paver waves and the oblong vehicular drop-off.

The hardscape (concrete), patterns and colors of the 4 by 8-inch unit pavers (Hanover) for the pedestrian paths give the campus a uniform look.

The rain garden at the rear of the lobby offers a pleasant view and storm water management. The main point, at which water from the roof is harvested and collected, is a unique waterfall scupper designed as a piece of landscape art. Rainwater collected, on the uppermost roof flows down a column of stainless steel cables and terminates at a precast concrete basin. The bowl allows the water to be slowly released into the rain garden. The base of the rain garden is stone and decorative boulders. When it rains, the locally-sourced rip rap lining the detention basin slowly releases the collected rainwater into a stormwater cistern. Scattered around the edges are locally sourced boulders that add texture and visual interest.

The drop-off is paved with 4"x4" granite setts mortared over a concrete base in a radial pattern. The tighter texture of the granite setts contrasts well with the larger scaled slate paving at the edge of the drop-off. Stainless steel bollards line the edge of the vehicular drop-off. The green slate and contrasting colored concrete pavers are echoed around the rest of the project to bring continuity and consistency to the plan.

To keep the vehicular drop-off court accessible to the main entry, a stone retaining wall wraps the southern edge. This wall is composed of local fieldstone and was dry laid to a maximum height of five feet tall. Looking from the vehicular drop-off and main building entrance, the wall disappears from view and allows for the adjacent service drive to pass by almost unseen. Because the wall was dry laid, it accentuates the shapes of the individual stones and complements the sawn and geometric stones used for the paving by the building entry.

Water/Water Sensitive Design: Planting and Irrigation
The planting palette for the site is native and adapted species able to withstand the summer heat and drought conditions with little irrigation. Myriad native grasses, perennials, ferns and shrubs weave together in broad drifts beneath scattered trees. Maple, oak, and birch trees cluster around places where people will naturally linger, providing welcomed shade along the pathways and seating areas. Understory trees and shrubs (birch, serviceberry and sweetspire) nestle into the edge of the preserved woodland to help blur the edge of disturbance. Plants tolerant of wet conditions are located in bioretention areas and low-lying pockets. A large underground cistern adjacent to the entry drive collects storm water runoff from on-grade and graywater from the building. This stored water irrigates the landscape and will in turn be cleansed by plant materials within the bioretention areas before it is released from the site. Surface parking and parking garage run-off is collected and similarly passed through the bioretention areas on the site.

This aerial view from the east reveals the overview of the upper and lower green roofs. The illustration shows the conveyance route of storm water from the upper roof to the rain garden via the large scupper in the lower corner of this roof. It also illustrates the extent to the green roof on the lower mass of the north wing.

Green Roof
Over half of the building's roof surface is covered with an extensive green roof. The green roofs demonstrate NOAA's commitment to sustainability, but also the occupants of the building's upper levels to look down on an elevated meadow of succulents, sedums and herbaceous perennials (sedums, chives, hens and chicks, coat flower, and fame flower) that change color with the seasons and provide a habitat for insects, birds and butterflies. The roof deck supports three to five inches of soil medium and plant materials above the roof membrane and insulation.

The function of the green roofs, which is perhaps of the most value in this location, is their ability to detain rainwater. The plant material and soil medium detain, filter and clean rainfall and reduce the stress on the county's storm sewer system during a storm event. In conjunction with the bioretention areas on the site, the green roof will improve the quality of the surface water that enters the local water table and streams. The project is in the watershed of Paint Branch Creek, which flows into the Anacostia River. The local parks are working to clean up the eight-mile Anacostia. Although surrounded by parkland the Anacostia is severely polluted. Both the Anacosita River and the Potomac River flow into the Chesapeake Bay. This is one part of a long effort to revitalize the Chesapeake Bay, an initiative that is now starting to bear fruit. Maryland officials view green roof technology as one of the best efforts towards meeting EPA clean water rules and welcome the introduction of green roofs to all projects.

The raised employee dinning terrace features views of the rain garden below. To complement and contrast the organic edges of the rain garden materials, the dinning terrace uses sleek, smooth green slate pavers in various sizes and a curved layout. The dinning terrace is paved with radial bands of green slate pavers and shaded by honeylocusts. The railing is made of glass panels with stainless steel posts set into a precast concrete cap. The railing is designed to have minimal visual impact and allow unobstructed views outwards. The concrete wall has a precast cap.

A galvanized steel pedestrian bridge with a custom glass railing with stainless posts links the walkway and employee dining terrace. The bridge is perforated to give views of the rain garden below.

Environmental artist and sculptor Ned Kahn created a moving aluminum wind sculpture that is mounted to the parking garage wall. The small metal pieces flutter in the wind and reflect light, creating an ever changing mural. Honey locust trees and "Shamrock' inkberry holly and cherry laurel shrubs offer a green buffer between buildings.

Central Rain Garden
Although there were no naturally occurring bodies of water on site, the site design features a central rain garden in the heart of the development. When the green roofs reach their detention capacity the main sloped roof of the building discharges storm water into the central rain garden. The main point at which water from the roof is harvested and collected is a unique waterfall scupper designed as a piece of landscape art. It is located between the main entry to the facility and the central atrium space, and is fully visible from both inside and outside the building.

A series of stainless steel cables vertically connect the architectural scupper with a precast concrete bowl at the ground. This purpose of the bowl is to accept the falling stormwater, with the spill over going into the surrounding rain garden. In extreme rain events, the intent is for water to splash out of the bowl, making visible the relative intensity of the storm.

This rain garden consists of a gentle swale that is heavily planted with trees, shrubs and ferns ("Sweet Bay' magnolia, chokeberry, inkberry holly, sensitive fern, and "Tussock' sedge) in a soil medium that helps filter contaminants in the water. The bottom of the rain garden is filled with small stones and spotted with boulders, adding points of contrast within the overall landscape composition. Depending upon the season and amount of surface water run-off this garden can be wet or dry.

The main dining terrace for workers is located outside of the cafeteria space and perched up above the central rain garden. It is paved with green slate and shaded with honeylocust trees. It is surrounded with a stainless steel and glass railing, allowing full visibility into the rain garden. A custom-designed galvanized steel bridge connects the dining terrace to circulation paths around the rest of the site.

The rear garden has a flowing series of berms to screen the surface parking lots. The foreground rock channel conveys stormwater.

Lit ornamental bollards protect pedestrians from vehicular activity. The stainless steel finish of the light bollards (Bega 8212 metal halide) helps tie the plaza into the architectural elements of the building. The pole lighting is the "Oval Soltice' (SOL1) from Lumec.

Wind Sculpture
Adjacent to the dining terrace and at the termination of the view from the building lobby through the rain garden, a large wind sculpture has been mounted onto the side of the parking garage. The artist Ned Kahn created the sculpture that is made out of aluminum. It has small pieces that flutter in the wind and reflect light creating and ever changing mural.

The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA's) National Center for Climate and Weather Prediction (NCCWP) houses 825 employees, including meteorologists, scientists and data managers from NOAA's Satellite, Data and Information Service, and NOAA'S Air Resources Laboratory. NCCWP delivers science-based weather, water and climate forecasts for the U.S. and the world. The scientists also measure air quality; study climate variations; monitor and predict movement of volcanic ash; research ways to use NOAA satellite data to better safeguard the environment; monitor hurricanes and cyclones worldwide; and analyze fire and smoke plumes from wildfires.