Washington D.C.—Major League Baseball (MLB)'s Washington Nationals have a new state-of-the-art home. Set near the Anacostia River in Southeast Washington and designed by a joint venture between the HOK Sport team and Washington, D.C.-based Devrouax+Purnell Architects, Nationals Park achieved LEED Silver certification. The project is the first LEED-certified stadium, and it was designed and built in 36 months, making it one of the quickest ballparks to open in all of MLB.

Public transportation is easily accessible from the site, and high-efficiency field lighting accounts for a 21-percent energy savings. Water-conserving plumbing fixtures were also implemented throughout the project, saving an estimated 3.6 million gallons of water per year and reducing overall water consumption by 30 percent. An intricate water filtration system separates water used for cleaning the ballpark from rainwater and treats both sources of water before releasing it to the sanitary and storm water systems.

What's more, a 6,300-sq.-ft. green roof above a concession and restroom area beyond left field minimizes roof heat gain. Other roof materials used also offer a high degree of reflectance, minimizing the amount of heat released to the environment.

Stadium seating provides unique viewing experiences, both of the game and of the Capitol City, as each seat in the ballpark was designed to have a distinct seating "neighborhood." The concourse also offers an almost complete 360-degree open view of the playing field.