The Washington Marriott Marquis is a highly anticipated addition to a rapidly growing sector of Washington, DC’s commercial district. The 975,000 SF hotel and conference center will offer 1,175 rooms, 46-suites, and more than 100,000 square feet of meeting and assembly space. Five retail and restaurant outlets at the street level will create social engagement among guests and city dwellers. The design of the new four-star hotel integrates the historic Samuel Gompers AFL-CIO headquarters (the Plumbers Building) into the property as a distinct guestroom tower, which will be connected at the lobby and fourth floor.

Design collaborators Cooper Carry and tvsdesign also ensured the aesthetic would complement the adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. To reconcile the hotel’s immense square footage with Washington, DC’s legendary building height restrictions, the project is being constructed with an innovative top-down construction method. The building is nearly as deep as it is tall, extending 94 feet underground and 14 stories above. Most meeting space is below grade, as are the loading dock and truck service, mechanical spaces, and two-level garage, and the roof will feature a mechanical equipment penthouse. 

The Washington Marriot Marquis is pursuing a certification level of Silver under the LEED for New Construction & Major Renovations™ rating system. An all-glass entrance, skylights, and structural glass curtain walls reduce the need for electric lighting. GHT designed specialized MEP systems to support the hotel’s fitness center, ballrooms, meeting rooms, 15-story atrium, full smoke control system, and water recovery systems, and plumbing fixtures extend through the hotel and conference center to support individual rooms, kitchens and kitchenettes, and dining facilities. The building also features a customized conveyance system for the hotel’s electric traction elevators, hydraulic elevators, escalators, and wheelchair lifts.