Case Study: Duke Ellington School of the Arts achieves modern, sustainable school design with Graphisoft Archicad

Duke Ellington School of the Arts creates a 265,000 sq ft LEED Gold campus with Graphisoft

The Duke Ellington School of the Arts, a world-renowned public school in Washington DC, faced the challenge of modernizing its aging 1890s building. They needed a major overhaul to create a 21st-century facility that balanced historic preservation with modern design and sustainable features. Through an international competition, the architectural firm cox graae + spack architects won the project using Graphisoft's Archicad BIM software to design their proposal.

The solution involved using Archicad's BIM capabilities for meticulous design, collaboration, and visualization. Graphisoft's platform allowed the team to integrate complex systems, achieve LEED Gold sustainability certification, and enable seamless coordination among all project partners. The results included the successful transformation of the 265,000 sq ft facility, multiple design awards, and the delivery of a state-of-the-art arts school completed in 2017. Furthermore, working with Graphisoft transformed the architectural firm's practice, enabling it to compete with much larger firms.

Duke Ellington School of the Arts