The newly designed Conway School of Nursing is a transformative addition to Catholic University of America’s historic Washington D.C. campus. It will play a key role as the University looks to address the national nursing shortage, adding enough capacity to double enrollment.

The Conway School of Nursing is a cornerstone of Catholic University’s Campus Master Plan — designed by Ayers Saint Gross — and reflects the core values and ethos of the growing school. It is positioned at a prominent location along Michigan Avenue, occupying the site of a former parking lot, anchoring a landscaped courtyard, and realigning pedestrian paths designed by Michael Vergason Landscape Architects and Ayers Saint Gross.

The building’s siting was intentionally chosen to complete the University’s Michigan Avenue frontage while protecting surrounding landscapes. This way, it protects historic Willow Oaks while improving stormwater management through landscaped bioretention.

The new Conway School of Nursing complements the scale and architectural character of its Catholic University neighbors with their characteristic gray, ashlar granite Gothic designs. The facility integrates modern design and construction techniques with precise traditional detailing combining large divide lite windows, a clay tile roof (characteristic of the Catholic University campus), and bronze custom light fixtures.

The same stone used to construct nearby historic campus buildings was salvaged from Philadelphia’s Transfiguration of Our Lord Church, which was built in 1924 and demolished in 2009. The stone is incorporated into the Conway School’s facade through a cost-effective pre-cast panel system innovated by RAMSA.

Each reused stone was carefully split to create a flat face before being adhered by hand to custom precast concrete panels. This technique transformed the salvaged, century-old masonry into a durable, modular cladding system. The panels were finished with traditional mortar, preserving the appearance of hand-laid stonework while benefiting from the efficiency, structural integrity, and ease of installation offered by facade panelization.

The building’s interiors (designed by Ayers Saint Gross)are equally impressive, boasting flexible learning environments, immersive simulation and clinical labs, science labs, student and public gathering and office spaces.

A variety of cutting-edge simulation suites support a competency-based nursing curriculum and provide a realistic training environment for aspiring nurses. Specialized equipment, including hyper-realistic manikins and birthing simulators allow nursing students to gain hands-on experience in a safe, controlled environment. Acute and ambulatory care classrooms replicate real-world settings and enable students to learn and practice skills and critical thinking, while attached debrief rooms provide an informal environment to reflect on each simulated scenario.

The Conway School of Nursing is actively reshaping the future of healthcare education, providing students a collaboration-focused and technology-enabled learning environment rooted in clinical excellence.

Interior Design: Ayers Saint Gross
Architect: RAMSA (Robert A.M. Stern Architects)
RAMSA Team: Kevin M. Smith, Jennifer L. Stone, Graham S. Wyatt
Landscape Architect: Michael Vergason Landscape Architects
Photography: Keith Isaacs