BUILDING ON
•2023
CASE STUDY
1 9 7 3
A CONFIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT CLIENT
This new construction of a LEED-Certified, state-of-the-art government office building sought to bring cutting-edge resources to the agency’s mission. The aim was to provide an environment that would be efficient, flexible, highly usable, and attractive to modern workers, significantly modernizing the organization in terms of technology, sustainability, and efficiency. Further, the agency sought to centralize and consolidate. Originally located across three buildings, all departments and divisions of the agency would now come together under one roof. This consolidation presented a potential for confusion that could not be unheeded in the design. Additional goals identified in programming and visioning included: increasing shared meeting areas; providing smarter, more modern and flexible use of available space; equitably balancing natural light, while promoting health and wellness; and a leveling of space standards. “Levels of Excellence” became the central design concept, developed from the team’s process and recommendation. A primary goal of the design was that the finished project would not look like a typical government agency.
The Team DBI, Hines, and The Clearing collaborated on this project. Like many growing organizations, the agency was faced with managing a very large staff and operations across three different offices, in several different buildings. The agency had outgrown a dated 25-year-old facility, and needed a new space that would be attractive to modern workers, updated in terms of technology, sustainability, and efficiency. The goal was to centralize and consolidate staff and operations, increase shared meeting areas, and create a smarter, modern, more flexible environment – meaning a very large floorplan of 450,000 SF over ten floors. The solution, ultimately, was moving to a smaller footprint (by 24,000 SF). The new design actually increases shared meeting areas, while providing ample offices and desking for a staff of more than 1,600. The resulting spaces are efficient, spacious, and full of light.
DBI Architects DBI acted as lead on the project, collaborating with Hines (programing, scope development, design oversight, construction oversight, construction management services, and operation hand-off), and with The Clearing (Space Utilization Evaluation, providing space plans and test fits for typical floors and blocking plans for the full building). DBI provided conceptual and schematic design, design documents, construction documents, construction administration, and overall team oversight and management.
Hines For this $135 million Headquarter relocation project, Hines provided agency representation from lease development through construction closeout and operational hand-off, as well as construction management services including due diligence, programming, scope development, design oversight, construction oversight, and operation hand-off.
The Clearing The Clearing brought to the project their expertise in a discovery approach meant to generate insight into the agency’s current state of technical and business procedures and methods, as well as exploring the corporate culture and work styles, and identifying areas of consideration for future decision-making. The data gathering approach focused on analyzing qualitative and quantitative data to get a picture of current use and perceptions of space to inform key workplace shifts, making recommendations for the future state, and solidifying strategies for communicating and engaging stakeholders throughout the process.
The Challenge: This agency was faced with managing a very large staff and operations across three different offices, in several different buildings, with no office and workstation standards.
The Goal: To centralize and consolidate staff and operations, increase shared meeting areas, and create a smarter, modern, more flexible environment – meaning a very large floor plan of 450,000 SF over ten floors.
The Solution: Ultimately moving to a smaller footprint (by 24,000 SF), the new design actually increases shared meeting areas, while providing ample offices and desking for a staff of more than 1,600. The resulting spaces are efficient, spacious, and full of light.
The Challenge: The agency had outgrown a dated 25-year-old facility, and needed a new space that would be attractive to modern workers, updated in terms of technology, sustainability, and efficiency.
The Goal: Goals included transparency across the agency and leveling of space standards, as well as reducing the carbon impact.
The Solution: The finished space doesn’t look like a typical government agency. Up-to-date information technology throughout ensures that the space is state-of-the-art. To achieve LEED-Certified for the space, efficiencies were sought through every available avenue, including lighting, HVAC, and finishes and furnishings. Equity in wellness is addressed by placing offices near the core, balancing natural light in private space and public space, and allowing daylight to permeate through glass walls deep into each floorplate. Inboarding offices also positively impacts temperature control, minimizing hot/cold calls, as no staff are directly in sun exposure.
The Challenge: Nearly a half-million square feet across ten floors can create navigational woes – particularly when many floors share prototypical features.
The Goal: To create a system allowing the user to easily wayfind across floors and within each level.
The Solution: Potential difficulties of navigation and wayfinding through this large space were addressed by color coded furnishings, wallcoverings, and details on each of ten floors, along with logically gridded circulation paths. These wayfinding colors were used to accent spaces – down to the piping color on chairs. Each of ten floors is specifically color-coded, to speed and ease navigation.
Bringing cutting-edge resources to the agency’s mission, this LEED-Certified, state-of-the-art government office building has provided an efficient, flexible, highly usable, working environment. Significantly modernizing the organization, the new space embodies modern workers’ needs and expectations in terms of technology, sustainability, and efficiency. Centralizing and consolidating under one roof an organization that had stretched across three buildings and many offices, wayfinding was managed in such a way that mitigated any potential confusion. Each of the ten floors was color coded in furnishings, wallcoverings, and details. These wayfinding colors were used to accent spaces – down to the piping color on chairs. Logically gridded circulation paths were also instituted, to further ease navigation. Through expert programming and design, shared meeting areas were increased, smarter, more modern and flexible use of available space was provided, access to natural light was equitably balanced, and space standards were leveled. This successful project is a centerpiece of DBI’s and the team’s portfolio of large-scale office modernizations.
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