UMB Tops Off New School of Social Work Building
Hands stayed warm in coat pockets and heads were protected in hard hats as onlookers got a glimpse of the final beam rising into place for the new University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) building.
UMSSW Dean Judy Postmus addresses the crowd gathered for the UMSSW new building topping off ceremony. Photo by Matthew Paul D’Agostino
University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) faculty, staff, and students joined the Whiting-Turner Contracting Company crew and Ballinger architects Feb. 25 inside the school’s future assembly room to reflect on what this construction milestone represents: change.
“This is a new moment for what we call changemakers,” said UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS. “That’s what the School of Social Work does.”
At a topping-off ceremony at 600 W. Lexington St., UMB and Whiting-Turner celebrated the structural completion of the new School of Social Work building that culminated in the raising of the final beam. Crews broke ground Oct. 17, 2024. This construction tradition is symbolic in one sense — raising a painted white beam topped with an American flag and a small evergreen tree to represent good luck and respect for the tree spirits — and practical in another sense, as a hand-off between the trades working on the foundation and structure and the crew that will complete the interior and façade.
“This has been, since I’ve been dean, a dream becoming a reality,” said Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, dean of UMSSW. She recalled taking office in July 2020, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, when she was asked what she wanted in a new building she had not yet stepped inside to fully understand.
Her answer was clear.
“I want a building that reflects social work values,” Postmus said, with values of openness, transparency, and welcome.
Those values, she noted, have been evident throughout the design process, which included extensive surveys, focus groups, and conversations with faculty, staff, alumni, and community members.
The $125 million, six-story, 127,400-square-foot building designed by Ballinger included as many requests as could be packed into this space:
- 10 classrooms, two media labs, six simulation rooms, 13 conference rooms, 16 small meeting rooms, 27 huddle rooms, and an indoor assembly space
- Elevated outdoor gathering space
- Indoor bike parking and shower facility
- Sacred/prayer space
- Foot-washing station
- Small coffee shop
But beyond aesthetics and amenities, sustainability is a defining feature.
Beneath the structure are 42 geo-exchange wells extending more than 600 feet into the ground, forming an energy-efficient heating and cooling system thought to be among the first of its kind in Baltimore with wells located directly under the building footprint. Solar infrastructure and advanced building systems further position the project as a model for environmentally responsible construction.
Holding up a sample sticker, Jarrell previewed a fundraising campaign for the building in which community members can purchase a bronze plaque that will be placed over each well.
“The idea wasn’t to raise money,” Jarrell added. “It was to let the people know, who were walking around here, that they’re actually under there, and they’re an important part of the building.”
UMSSW’s new home is projected to be the first building in downtown Baltimore to use geo-exchange technology to heat and cool the building. It also is slated to be the first building statewide and within the University System of Maryland to place geo-exchange wells below the building.
The aim is to achieve LEED Gold certification and aspiring for LEED Platinum certification — the highest level awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council. Additionally, the project is tracking to earn LEED Net Zero Energy certification through its innovative use of geothermal exchange wells, chilled beams, on-site solar panels, and a usable outdoor roof garden. The building is configured to use 65 percent less energy than a traditional building of its size and zero operational fossil fuels.
For Whiting-Turner president and CEO Tim Regan, the project aligns with a larger mission.
“Social work and social workers change lives for the better. In fact, they often save lives,” Regan said. “And for that reason, it’s a privilege for us to be involved in this project with all of our various workers.”
It is a privilege, he noted, to help build the space where that work will continue.
Regan also turned his focus to the tradespeople gathered nearby, reminding them that this year’s company theme is “care.”
“You must care about yourself,” he told the workers. “Your families and your kids are counting on you to come home safe and unhurt tonight.”
As attendees moved toward an opening in the sheeting, the final beam — signed by project partners — was lifted into place at the top of the sixth floor.
In late 2027, this space will house the next generation of changemakers.
