The Washington International School Tregaron Science building is a brand new, state-of-the-art, 57,000 SF, four-story educational facility located on the school’s six-acre campus within the Tregaron Conservancy in Washington, DC. The campus serves middle and high school students across multiple buildings and is anchored by a historic 1912 Georgian Revival mansion at the top of the site.
The project includes a new science-focused building with classrooms, advanced labs, multipurpose gathering spaces, conference areas, and a central cafeteria that supports the broader campus. While it significantly expands the school’s academic program, the building had to be carefully designed to fit within a tight, historically sensitive site without disrupting the overall character of the campus. To achieve this, a large portion of the structure is built into the hillside. Two levels extend below grade beneath the existing soccer field, using light wells, landscaped areaways, and strategically placed windows to bring in natural light. This approach helped reduce the visual presence of the building while still creating bright, usable interior spaces that feel connected to the outdoors.
The new Tregaron Science building ultimately delivers a modern learning environment that supports science education while respecting the existing campus. It’s a project that required careful planning, coordination, and execution to successfully introduce new construction into a highly constrained and occupied site.
This project includes a complete renovation of the existing historic building and new construction additions to create a modernized learning space. The new school will consist of physical education space and dining services, discovery commons spaces, small group rooms, and resource rooms to accommodate special projects, collaborative work, and individual pull-out instruction. The project will be designed to achieve LEED Gold Certification, green roof credits, Energy Star Certification, and incorporate NetZero strategies. The substantial completion date is October 15, 2024.
The newly established Turner|MCN Joint Venture was awarded the new GW Health Hospital and Ambulatory Pavilion project at St. Elizabeths East, Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center. This $375M, 136-bed facility will house an emergency department, trauma center, radiology, surgery, and women’s services in a 250,000 SF acute care building. The outpatient ambulatory wing will include 77,000 SF of clinic space, imaging, specialty care, medical offices, cardiac rehab, surgery, and conference/education space. Additionally, the project will include a 500-car parking deck. The New Hospital at St. Elizabeths East will give Ward 7, and 8 residents access to critical health and special services at state-of-the-art facilities, including maternal health and newborn nursery services, obstetric services, and a Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
MCN reprogrammed Howard University’s incubator lab to house their five Centers of Excellence (COE), including Behavioral Health, Oral Health, Sickle Cell Disease, Trauma and Violence Prevention, and Women’s Health. The COE provides students and faculty space for medical research, studying, and large-scale events. This modernization involved the installation of a human body scanner and ultra reality scanner and updated the mechanical and electrical systems. The COE’s programs, initiatives, and research will improve population health and advance health equity in the District and beyond.
The John Francis Education Campus modernization will be roughly 126,000 SF, serving approximately 680 students. Classrooms will be created to accommodate a 21st-century learning environment and meet DCPS education specification standards. In addition to classrooms, discovery commons spaces, small group rooms, and resource rooms will be integrated into the design to accommodate special projects, collaborative work, and individual pull-out instruction. The new modernized design shall allow for dining and physical education services.
The Raymond Elementary School project will create an 85,000 SF learning facility to bring the Raymond ES in line with the District of Columbia Public Schools Educational Specifications, including discovery commons spaces, small group rooms, and resource rooms. The project is seeking LEED Gold Certification.
MCN Build provided preconstruction and general contracting services for the Howard University Undergraduate Library. The project consisted of a three-story renovation joined to the historic Howard University Founders library next door. Interior finishes and MEP systems were upgraded, and extensive waterproofing and facade repairs were done to protect the new finishes.
Modernizing the space to meet the needs of the campus included the integration of technology to support the new-age learning environment. The open space plan encourages collaboration and equitable space for student body engagement within the collaboration spaces and quiet study areas. The library renovation includes the expansion of document/book storage on the Archives level.
The Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan (CHML) serves students from all eight wards in the District of Columbia. This complex modernization project involved the renovation of the historic building, removing the classroom trailer annex, and constructing a substantial three-part building addition encompassing 97,000 square feet. This $62M expansion of the only Montessori school in D.C.’s public school system incorporates a Children’s House and a co-located middle school for PK3-8 students, which now allows for an increase in enrollment from 362 to 495.
The CHML school achieved LEED Gold Certification and incorporated geothermal heating and cooling technology, aligning with sustainability and environmental impact best practices outlined in the Mayor’s Sustainable DC initiative. CHML’s configuration provides students with 10+ outdoor classrooms, an outdoor recreation area, and a rooftop turf field.
MCN performed an interior renovation of an existing space to create a beautiful new restaurant and bar with a gourmet kitchen and storehouse. Ilili is a Lebanese restaurant that has been crowned the “Jewel of the Wharf.” This 6,261 square foot, $1.2M project was transformed from a glass cube into an exquisite courtyard. The interior of the space is inspired by the enchanting gardens found within the courtyards of longstanding Beirut homes. The space features high ceilings and an enclosed patio lined with trees and suspended birdcages filled with steel doves that hover seven feet above the ground.