For the past three semesters, students, faculty, and staff from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies have learned, taught, and completed research at the Hopkins Bloomberg Center. This new academic building is located at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of Washington D.C., allowing the prestigious Baltimore-based university to establish a foothold in the nation’s capital. The process to make this happen started with a fairly noteworthy closure announcement more than five years ago.
The Purchase and Planning Process
In Jan. 2019, Johns Hopkins announced that it had purchased the building at 555 Pennsylvania Avenue, which housed the Newseum at that time, for $372.5 million. The museum, which was dedicated to news and journalism, closed by the end of that year. That’s when the university and the D.C. government got to work planning the large-scale renovation.
Because of the building’s location in the historic Pennsylvania Avenue Plan boundaries, the project was highly regulated. The proposed design from Ennead Architects had to be reviewed and approved by the National Capital Planning Commission, Commission of Fine Arts, the National Park Service, and the General Services Administration, which represents Congress. Innovo Construction oversaw the renovation, which sustainably repurposed the existing space.
The Finished Product
The Hopkins Bloomberg Center was completed in 2023 and welcomed students in August of that year. Students, faculty, and staff from the School of Advanced International Studies now occupy the 435,000 square foot building, which is equipped with 38 adaptable classrooms, numerous flexible learning and gathering spaces, a state-of-the-art 375-seat theatre, lounges, several roof terraces with a view of Pennsylvania Avenue, an art gallery, an enhanced streetscape, and spaces for a future restaurant and café. The building also hosts students from the Carey Business School, Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, Peabody Institute, and the School of Government and Policy, allowing for interdisciplinary collaboration.
An Ideal Location
What better place to teach and train the future civic leaders of the world than the heart of Washington D.C.? The Hopkins Bloomberg Center is just a few minutes’ walk from the White House, United States Capitol, Department of the Treasury, Department of Justice, Department of Energy, and the National Mall. The event spaces throughout the building allow for collaborations, discussions, speaking events, and public forums with policymakers, newsmakers, journalists, researchers, and other notable figures from around D.C.
At Construction Protection Systems, we’re proud to have played a small part in development of the Hopkins Bloomberg Center. Stay tuned for more updates from the makers of 1-2-3 Door Shield—the original, reusable door protection system.