The Hubert H. Humphrey Building is a

low-rise A low-rise is a building that is only a few stories tall or any building that is shorter than a high-rise, though others include the classification of mid-rise. Definition Emporis defines a low-rise as "an enclosed structure below 35 metres 15 ...

Brutalist

office building An office is a space where an organization's employees perform administrative work in order to support and realize objects and goals of the organization. The word "office" may also denote a position within an organization with specific dut ...

located in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Originally known as the South Portal Building, the Hubert H. Humphrey Building was dedicated on November 1, 1977. It became the headquarters of the

United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is " ...

(HEW). After the department's education component was given to the newly created

United States Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Departmen ...

in 1979, the newly named

United States Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

(HHS) continued to occupy the structure. The Hubert H. Humphrey Building is located at 200 Independence Avenue SW in Washington, D.C. It is named for

Hubert H. Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...

who was a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, and

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

Construction

Planning for the structure began about 1965. The building was designed by architect

Marcel Breuer Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer. At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most i ...

, in association with his design partner Herbert Beckhard and the architectural firm of Nolen-Swinburne and Associates.Von Eckardt, Wolf. "Breuer's New HEW: Fine Designs, Dollar Signs." ''Washington Post.'' May 13, 1972. In the Brutalist style, it was one of the last buildings Breuer designed before his retirement.Conroy, Sarah Booth. "Marcel Breuer: The Man, the Myth, the Craft." ''Washington Post.'' November 5, 1977. The Interstate-395 tunnel (also known as the "3rd Street Tunnel") and a major sewer line are situated beneath the structure. The building is designed to act like a bridge over the sewer and tunnel, balancing on a few strategically placed columns. A grid of steel trusses (which taper toward the exterior of the building) extend outward from these columns, which are primarily clustered toward the interior of the building. The exterior and interior walls and the floors hang from these trusses. The second through sixth floors of the building are clad in

precast concrete Precast concrete is a construction product produced by casting concrete in a reusable mold or "form" which is then cured in a controlled environment, transported to the construction site and maneuvered into place; examples include precast bea ...

panels finished with a thin granite veneer, each of which contains two large windows. The ground floor is contained by a glass curtain wall, and contains a lobby, exhibition space, and an auditorium. The first floor is open space, broken up by the main support columns and three building "cores" which contain elevators and other essential infrastructure. The interior walls were

prefabricated Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located. The term ...

to contain electrical wiring, HVAC, and plumbing, and other essential infrastructure. Due to the prefabricated nature of the interior, the cost of the building was reduced from $40 million to just $30 million. Dining facilities occupy the penthouse level of the building. There is also a balcony around the penthouse, but it is unused. The lobby is paved with

travertine Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a p ...

, and originally held two

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

Architect of the Capitol The Architect of the Capitol (AOC) is the federal agency responsible for the maintenance, operation, development, and preservation of the United States Capitol Complex. It is an agency of the legislative branch of the federal government and is ...

, the Hubert H. Humphrey Building is set back about from Independence Avenue SW so that it will not hide or compete with the view of the

Rayburn House Office Building The Rayburn House Office Building (RHOB) is a congressional office building for the U.S. House of Representatives in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, D.C., between South Capitol Street and First Street. Rayburn is named after form ...

up the hill to the east. This creates a large plaza in front of the building. Because plants and trees could not be grown on the plaza due to the deleterious effects their roots would have on the tunnel below, Breuer paved the plaza with concrete and included granite-lined depressions and small granite pyramids as decorative effects. In 1974, Congress passed legislation authorizing a major piece of public art to be placed at the south entrance to the Humphrey Building. In 1977, James Rosati's ''Heroic Shore Points I'', a cubic

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

piece painted bright red, was dedicated and emplaced. Construction on the building began in early May 1972. Congress threatened to take over the building and use it for office space for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

, but instead opted to raze a block of restored 19th century homes on New Jersey Avenue SW. In April 1977, as the Humphrey Building neared completion, one of the welds connecting the hanging interior walls to the roof truss cracked. The roof sagged , and 200 workers were evacuated from the fifth, sixth, and seventh floors. The beam was pulled back into position and rewelded into place. It was dedicated on November 1, 1977. The concrete work on the structure was poor in some places, with poor joints.

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

-sized chunks came loose from the concrete work shortly before the building was dedicated.

Dedication and use

The building was originally called the South Portal Building, as it served as a sort of gate or portal to the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

complex.Dewar, Helen. "House Eyes New HEW Headquarters." ''Washington Post.'' July 18, 1975. But this was changed, and it was named for Hubert H. Humphrey, then serving as U.S. Senator from

, and previously Vice President of the United States. It was the first time a federal building had been named for a living person, although at that time it was publicly known that Humphrey was terminally ill with cancer, and Humphrey died on January 13, 1978, just seventy-five days after the building was dedicated on November 1, 1977. , all of HHS's managerial and supervisory offices are contained in the building, but none of its operating divisions. In April 2014, the

General Services Administration The General Services Administration (GSA) is an independent agency of the United States government established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. gover ...

said it would spend $6.74 million to renovate the Humphrey Building into open workspace. This would allow the Office of the Chief Information Officer to move into the structure.Aitoro, Jill R. "Two Federal Buildings Poised for Makeover Under GSA Consolidation Plan." ''Washington Business Journal.'' April 22, 2014.
Accessed 2014-04-22.

References

Bibliography

*Hill, Kathleen and Hill, Gerald N. ''Encyclopedia of Federal Agencies and Commissions.'' New York: Facts on File, 2004. *Miller, Jonathan. ''Compassionate Community: Ten Values to Unite America.'' New York: St Martin's Press, 2007. *Moore, Arthur Cotton. ''The Powers of Preservation: New Life for Urban Historic Places.'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1998. *Thalacker, Donald W. ''The Place of Art in the World of Architecture.'' New York: Chelsea House, 1980. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubert H. Humphrey Building Buildings of the United States government in Washington, D.C. Office buildings in Washington, D.C. Hubert Humphrey Government buildings completed in 1977 Office buildings completed in 1977 1970s architecture in the United States Marcel Breuer buildings Brutalist architecture in Washington, D.C.