Georgetown University - 55 H Street

In 2019, Georgetown University created a plan to establish student housing near its growing collection of academic facilities near the U.S. Capitol. Through the first public-private partnership between the university and American Campus Communities (ACC), construction commenced on the 11-story residence hall – with ACC serving as the developer and manager, and RAMSA as the architect.

In tune with the University’s recognition for its prestigious programs in public policy, global health, technology, and law, the community is less than a mile away from Capitol Hill, historic U.S. landmarks, and Union Station. Ultimately, making transportation for 55 H St. residents within the nation’s Capital easy and accessible.

Completed in 2022, the new building provides space for approximately 476 Georgetown students, featuring 4,200 sq-feet of common area space on the ground floor designed to encourage a live-learn balance. Offering retail and academic-focused spaces, the lobby highlights group study rooms as well as a game room. Two outdoor courtyards paired with electric grills are located on the ground floor as well as a vast space for residents to gather. In addition, each residential floor offers its own group and private study rooms, plus a common area kitchen to foster togetherness for neighbors. In order to accommodate the need for different living styles, the community offers a mix of Studio, 2-bedroom, 3-bedroom, and 4-bedroom floor plans – with each unit providing individual bedrooms for each resident, complete with a shared kitchen, living room, and bathrooms.

With a smart project design that optimizes density on a compact three-quarter-acre site, the project leverages its proximity to public transit with a reduced parking footprint – including an electric charging station and priority parking for carpool and green vehicles. The building envelope is a testament to our holistic approach, with performance criteria set to significantly reduce annual energy consumption, water use, and the use of other natural resources. Solar panel arrays on the roof and the south façade provide energy for heating water and generate (and offset) approximately 5% of the building's total energy load, and a bioretention system is included in the courtyard for effective stormwater management.

The building is 100 percent electric, low-carbon, and designed to include a variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and dedicated outdoor air systems (DOAS) with heat recovery, providing controlled and conditioned ventilation that improves indoor air quality and occupant health, while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additional green features include LED lighting; low-flow plumbing fixtures; low-Voc materials; widely accessible recycling bins; and a state-of-the-art energy monitoring system. This system empowers students to be more involved with their own energy usage through an interactive platform that reads sensors measuring electrical and water usage in each unit, each floor, and the overall building and displays the information on communally visible screens. The ground floor also brandishes a living wall to not only reinforce the building’s intentions to the student population but to also broadcast Georgetown’s values surrounding environmentalism and stewardship to visitors.