At the scene: excavate to the Museum of Museum of National Geographic

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Washington – The process was methodical and full of dirt.

A drill of low clarity was launched under National Geographic’s headquarters in the center of Washington, DC, bored 70 to 90 feet on the floor while staff went on their way to work. Construction crews drilled and installed 42 steel codes micropiles, lowering the three -foot sections due to narrow authorizations. Each stack decreased to the pressure for stability, with protective partitions to prevent dust and waste from spilling on the occupied campus.

“It was very slow, very dirty,” Joe Kmiecinski, vice president of the site’s operations in Hitt Contracting. “It was drilled through the ground and then drilled through the rock, using air to remove all the rock, all the dust and everything that is associated.”

This was the essence of the Museum of Exploration project, which will show the excitement of exploration and discovery on the National Geographic campus, which is far from the White House. The scope of the work for the hiring of general contractors included the entrance of new foundations and structures through four different buildings, each of a different decade, while the offices remained open above.

The result is the way to be a reimborn public entrance on 16 and M NW streets, which will then take a new pavilion and a patio designed to host projection shows.

Merging different eras

The museum is inside and at the top of a patchwork of structures, some of the late 20th century, others of more than a century. The mixture tested both designers and builders, said Ryan Sokoloski, principal director of National Geographic Society’s construction operations.

“We are building between four existing buildings and above another. You could call it a building that ties them all,” Sokoloski told Construction Dive. “All have different structural components. So, trying to marry all together since the phase and the lower degree rise has been a challenge.”

The team’s task has become even more complicated by the fact that three of the buildings are in the National Register of Historic Places. John Boyer, Vice President of the National Geographic Society, of the National Geographic Society.

“There is so much attention,” Boyer told Construction Dive. “Both from a creative detail [architecture firm] Hickok Cole did, but also for Hitt in the detail of design both out of respect and to minimize the impact of these buildings so that they can be perfectly integrated. “”

Construction without closure

Unlike many major projects, the campus never closed, Boyer said, as national geographical employees continued business as usual during the construction phase.

“This is the biggest challenge,” Boyer said. “Do all this work, combine these four buildings and do it as long as we are never closed. We have never closed this campus.”

To do this, he said strict coordination, said Kmiecinski of Hitt. The Falls Church, based in Virginia, wrote more than 500 MOP, or procedure methods, such as detailed guides and step by step for complex or critical tasks.

“We meet Nat Geo every day to look at what we do and where we are going and what we will affect,” Kmiecinski told Construction Dive. “We try to make the best to minimize noise and dust as much as we can.”

For example, the crews eliminated portions from the frontal facade of the office building while the staff worked inside. The teams also ended the finishes and performed research on the older buildings to confirm what was behind the walls, and even discovered remnants of past reforms.

“We just made a lot of complicated demolition and reconstruction while busy,” Kmiecinski told Construction Dive. “Only looking at everything there are two and three times.”

Fares inside the pavilion

A drop -shaped roof spreads out in the center of the new pavilion. Its focal point is the Oculus Skylight, designed to flood the north -facing space with daylight.

“The roof is representative of a drop of water and the ripples that come out,” said Jason Wright, director and director of technical operations at Hickok Cole. “Allow the light to go down to the space. Add the skylight, it certainly brings the light of the day to the space to cheer the pavilion.”

He involved accurate coordination, Wright told Construction Dive. Sokoloski added that the team used prefabricated components on the site for space.

“From the point of view of constructability, obviously, glass for the skylight, the various different finishes, you have the acoustic roof, you have the work of the mill,” said Sokoloski. “It was a challenge to gather all these materials.”

Beyond architectural shows, Hitt also incorporated sustainability in the project from the base. A cistern of 45,000 gallons is at the lowest parking level, designed to collect rainwater for irrigation and gray water. The integration of systems also supported the design and digital model.

Sokoloski said that it was now over the end of the project quickly towards the open date of 2026. Inside, Kmiecinski said that workers are finishing land, carpentry, roof finishes and bathrooms. Outside, the courtyard is almost ready for its nightly projection shows.