Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building

Wilbur J. Cohen Federal Building

Project location: Washington, DC
Client: GSA
Design/ Construction: 2014
Projected Cost: $9 million (repairs)/ $20 million (replacement)

The Wilbur J. Cohen Federal building in Washington DC occupies an entire block and contains about 1 million sf of office space. Nandinee Phookan Architect, PC (NPA) and its team of consultants was retained by GSA to do a study of the building’s historic limestone and brick facade, to evaluate the existing conditions, identify areas that need immediate attention and provide recommendations and order of magnitude cost estimates. Based both on the conditions and the cost of remediation, NPA and its team presented a concept whereby the facade deficiencies can be addressed and possibly phased to work within GSA’s annual repair and maintenance budget.

The scope of work required environmental testing for the presence of PCBs in the mortar and lead paint at windows. It also required that the project address Historical Preservation criteria and that all work comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.