An Amenity-rich Work Oasis in D.C.

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
An amenity rich rooftop patio at 1620 L Street, NW, in Washington, DC. Designed by Wingate Hughes Architects. Photography: courtesy of Wingate Hughes Architects, ©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

Companies in every industry are trying to make sense of how they might fit into the coworking movement, rethinking flexible work schedule policies and beginning to provide employees with amenities they previously never saw a need for.

Sharable amenities, such as common areas and building features that more than one tenant/group/user can enjoy at once, are a mainstay feature at many coworking spaces. These amenities present benefits to real estate owners and space users alike. Real estate firms are able to create value for all of a building’s tenants by providing one amenity that applies to them all – an excellent investment. Tenants and their end users can choose to work and socialize in these spaces lying outside their own office walls, improving productivity and creativity and offering a balance of space types to many otherwise traditionally designed offices.

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

Wingate Hughes Architects recently completed one such sharable amenities project in Washington, D.C. Its client, real estate firm LaSalle Investment Management, sought to provide its tenants at LaSalle Investment Amenity Spec Suites with something they wouldn’t come across in other buildings, adding true value to its building.

Project scope included a redesign of the third floor shell space in the high-rise at 1620 L Street, NW. Wingate Hughes started by retrofitting the third story with four tech office suites, followed by a 2,000 square foot indoor amenities space and a 1,600 square foot outdoor patio.

“A space like this is really a step up from a WeWork space,” said Chris Walker, project designer at Wingate Hughes. “The companies are big enough that they want their own footprint, but they’re not quite ready to invest in a large amount of real estate.”

The spec suites are targeted toward tech and start-up companies, many of which employ a younger workforce.

“They want a dynamic space to attract younger workers who want a creative, social atmosphere,” said Ms. Fuentes.

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

From the project’s beginnings, Wingate Hughes took full advantage of its “blank canvas” quality, which enabled the design team to defy convention and dream bigger about what the space could be.

“This project was a lot of fun to work on,” said Natalie Hnatiw, senior project designer at Wingate Hughes. “LaSalle said, ‘The space is sitting empty, feel free to go crazy.’ We were free to flesh out any ideas we could come up with to draw attraction to the building.”

Wingate Hughes conceived of an indoor gathering space open to all building tenants and their guests. The space includes a shared pantry and bar seating, one shared four-person conference room, two phone rooms, walls with writable surfaces, and an area fitted with a television that moves on a motorized track to make space for wall notes. The design team chose lightweight furniture pieces that easily reconfigure for gatherings of many sizes.

Designing the offices in this way – with a shared pantry and shared common areas – enabled Wingate Hughes to use a large amount of square footage in playful ways.

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
A gathering area is fitted with a television that moves on a motorized track to make space for wall notes. ©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

Of no question, the building’s newest and brightest appeal is the deck patio that blends indoors with out via a three-ton, 23-foot custom glass “garage” wall, a feature Wingate Hughes calls an “infinity office space.”

The new roof deck is gorgeous; its aesthetics, a perfect union of sleek and cozy design details. Set atop a two-foot raised platform level with the third floor, the space is tiled and rimmed by a five-foot grass turf perimeter that serves as a putting green for guests.

Wingate Hughes’ floor plate maximizes available sunlight throughout the day, and its placement of the patio enables users to enjoy excellent views of L Street and drink in as much vitamin D as they want. At night, LED lights frame the patio and illuminate an oversize L-shape couch. An overhead pergola spans the length of one side of the patio, and a family style picnic table and fire pit are available to users at any time.

Meeting and phone rooms are tucked in a hallway around the corner. ©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
Meeting and phone rooms are tucked in a hallway around the corner. ©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

In brainstorming how windows and doors might open and conjoin the indoor common area and outdoor patio, Wingate Hughes shed all conventional concepts, while at the same time ensuring that the complexities of a custom, large-scale installation were handled correctly. As the design team developed the custom glass garage door wall, it worked through enhanced structural steel reinforcement, mechanical complexities, and weatherproofing strategies to make sure the door would operate perfectly.

“Anytime you touch a building’s skin, it’s critical that you weatherproof it,” said Mr. Walker. “The client wanted the clearest glass possible, and we worked closely with the engineers to specify the right type of glass that would both weatherproof it and satisfy the client at the same time.”

The glass garage wall, provided by Crown Incorporated, transitions from closed to open with an easy flip of a switch and a hydraulic lift (check out a video of the moving glass door in action here: https://vimeo.com/147742897).

Wingate Hughes’ redesign of the third floor is already proving its worth; the once 80% vacant building is now reportedly 90% occupied. And according to a press release announcing it’s completion, the client is very pleased:

“Wingate Hughes took our concept of providing a never before seen amenity and brought it to life,” said JLL Managing Director Doug Mueller. “We think this is the tip of the spear as the response from the tenant community was overwhelmingly positive.”

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
At night LED lights frame the patio and illuminate an oversize L-shape couch. ©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

The building’s management team has put a lot of thought into how it will manage of all these shared amenities, and the steps it’s taken to ensure smooth operations are a great example to designers who will pursue similar projects in the future. Designers will need to be prepared to play a role in change management, helping their clients understand the implications of a new space and any of its unique design features.

©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography
©Anice Hoachlander/ Hoachlander Davis Photography

For instance, building management controls the opening and closing of the garage door wall, and offices can put in requests at any time to open or close it. Office employees have security card access to the office whenever they want, and the fire pit uses an individual propane tank that runs out after a few hours to ensure safety. And the space isn’t finished just yet; plans to install a green wall will move forward this spring.

LaSalle Investment’s new space is an exceptional example of the term “urban retreat,” providing people working and living in the city with just that – a retreat from everything city life tends to zap from us. After all, who doesn’t need a little extra serenity, fresh air, energy and clarity?