The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) has moved into their new corporate headquarters in downtown Washington, D.C. The office space, designed by Perkins+Will, incorporates health, wellness, well-being, and sustainability as a central philosophy. The headquarters is registered for the WELL Building Standard and LEED and is on target to achieve platinum level for both certifications.
“At ASID, we are proud to have created a space that reflects what we believe—design impacts lives,” said ASID CEO Randy Fiser. “As the leader in research and innovation for the interior design profession, we applied principles that improve the health and wellness of our staff. This will have a direct and significant influence on employee productivity, efficiency, and creativity. We will evaluate the success of the space and share the findings with the larger design community to advance the future of workplaces.”
The new 8,500 square foot ASID headquarters has many innovative features that will improve the health and wellness of the employees. The circadian lighting system mimics the daily cycle of natural light along with fully automated shades that adjust height based on solar positioning. The sit/stand desks are unassigned to encourage mobility and collaboration.
Biophilic design strategies are throughout the space to maintain employees’ connection with nature to reduce stress levels and increase cognitive activity. Plants are incorporated in every window to give employees a direct source of natural mental and emotional inspiration. In the entry to the office, a screen displays a real-time dashboard of environmental attributes, including sound levels, air and water quality, and electrical load consumption.
The primary goal was to create a space that supported health, wellness, and the well-being of employees, which would improve the organization’s productivity, engagement, and retention. ASID incorporated features using the seven principles of the WELL as a benchmark.
- Air & Water: Carbon filters were installed in the air-handling units and the water purification systems. All cleaning and chemical storage units are closed from adjacent spaces and exhausted.
- Nourishment: Fruits and vegetables are always available to staff. The hydration station provides filtered water to encourage non-sugary beverages. The preferred event caterer specializes in fresh menu options.
- Light: In addition to the circadian lighting, 90 percent of the occupied office space has direct access to natural light.
- Fitness: The sit/stand desks encourage physical activity and consistent movement. The building provides access to a gym that offers various modes of exercise.
- Comfort: The acoustics of the space are designed so the collaboration areas reduce sound levels. With six different styles of meeting rooms featuring whiteboard walls, TV screens, and notation tables, staff members have the option to select the area that best fits their gathering.
- Mind: The office has a dedicated wellness room for relaxation and mental pauses. The room is acoustically engineered to limit outside noise.
To help build the future of workplaces, ASID’s office will operate as a living laboratory. Staff members volunteered to participate in a pre- and post-occupancy research study. Funded by the ASID Foundation and partnered with Cornell University, the pre-occupancy study measured employees’ interactions, movements, and environmental conditions. The study will be replicated after six months to evaluate how the design of the new space has contributed to behavioral changes toward healthier lifestyles and increases in productivity.
As ASID continues to advance the profession, the new corporate headquarters demonstrates the impact of design on the human experience.
(Photos from ASID’s Instagram page, www.instagram.com/asid_hq)
About The American Society of Interior Designers
The American Society of Interior Designers believes that design transforms lives. ASID serves the full range of the interior design profession and practice through the Society’s programs, networks, and advocacy. We thrive on the strength of cross-functional and interdisciplinary relationships among designers of all specialties, including workplace, healthcare, retail and hospitality, education, institutional, and residential. We lead interior designers in shared conversations around topics that matter: from evidence-based and human centric design to social responsibility, well-being, and sustainability. We showcase the impact of design on the human experience and the value interior designers provide.
ASID was founded 40 years ago when two organizations became one, but its legacy dates back to the early 1930s. As we celebrate nearly 85 years of industry leadership, we are leading the future of interior design, continuing to integrate the advantages of local connections with national reach, of small firms with big, and of the places we live with the places we work, play, and heal. Learn more at asid.org.
PRESS RELEASE FROM PERKINS+WILL:
Perkins+Will Creates Workplace of the Future for Leading Interior Design Professional Society
American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Tapped Perkins+Will for Design of Cutting Edge Headquarters in Nation’s Capital
“This was a rare opportunity to design a living laboratory to set new standards and metrics for the office of the future. Additionally, it is a high honor for our team to be selected by ASID to design their Headquarters,” said Ken Wilson, Principal, Perkins+Will’s D.C. office.
Perkins+Will have completed the design of the new headquarters for the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID). Intended to be a living laboratory and establish a model for the “office of the future,” the new ASID headquarters embodies innovative workplace environments where wellness, sustainability, collaboration, flexibility and new technologies were key drivers shaping the design.
“The new ASID headquarters is tracking Platinum under the LEED for Commercial Interiors Rating system. It is also on track to be the region’s first to achieve Platinum Certification under the new WELL Building Standard, which focuses specifically on maximizing the health and wellness impacts of a space on occupants,” said Ken Wilson, a principal at Perkins+Will’s Washington, D.C. office who led the project’s design team.
The new office environment will let employees use a reservations system to select from a variety of workplace environments based on what best supports their specific tasks that day, from highly collaborative teaming to more intense, private and individually-focused work.
A variety of sensor and software applications have been integrated into the space so ASID can incorporate real time metrics on a variety of environmental attributes and assess how they influence occupant behavior and comfort. A digital dashboard will display data on electrical load consumption, air quality (including temperature, humidity, Co2, and particle count), sound levels, and water quality. ASID will also be poised to track space utilization patterns through the room reservation software and study how occupants are interacting with the office.
As part of the initial occupancy evaluations, ASID staff members volunteered to participate in a research study with Cornell University and wear social sensing monitors that measure speech patterns and body movement. ASID will also be able to measure how interactions may change as a result of the new office design.
“The Perkins+Will team brought to our project a unique combination of workplace strategy, sustainable design knowledge, technical execution, and aesthetics,” said ASID CEO Randy Fiser. “Their integrated set of experiences and knowledge was what we needed to achieve our goals to have a space that emphasized the health and wellness of our employees and be a highly functional and productive environment. Ultimately, we expect the ASID collaboration with Perkins+Will to inspire many more healthy and productive workplaces in the 21st century. As we continue to lead research and innovation in our space, ASID will communicate the impact of design with the design community and the larger public audience.”
In keeping with ASID’s health and sustainability goals, materials and furniture specified for the project were rigorously evaluated to eliminate substances that could potentially contribute to negative health effects, where possible. The designers maximized the use of recycled materials with 100 percent of all textiles being manufactured from 100 percent post-consumer recycled content.
The WELL Building Standard drove the design of several innovative systems, including a circadian lighting system designed to mimic the daily color temperature cycle of natural daylight, fully automated shades that raise or lower in response to solar position and current weather conditions, and a sophisticated lighting strategy that eliminates eye strain and other negative ergonomic impacts from glare.
Biophilic design strategies were also strategically employed throughout the space to reduce stress and trigger elevated levels of cognitive and emotional performance in occupants. Natural materials, dynamic architectural forms and patterning that evoke natural sequences and spatial configurations the evoke feelings of mystery and refuge were all employed to resonate with occupants on a subconscious level, and improve their experience in the space.
About Perkins+Will
Perkins+Will is an interdisciplinary, research-based architecture and design firm established in 1935 and founded on the belief that design has the power to transform lives and enhance communities. Each of the firm’s 24 offices focuses on local, regional, and global work in a variety of practice areas. With hundreds of award-winning projects annually, Perkins+Will is highly ranked among top global design firms. Perkins+Will is recognized as one of the industry’s preeminent sustainable design firms due to its innovative research, design tools, and expertise. The firm’s 1,800 professionals are thought leaders in developing 21st century solutions to inspire the creation of spaces in which clients and their communities work heal, live, and learn. Social responsibility is a fundamental aspect of Perkins+Will’s culture and every year the company donates 1% of its design services to pro bono initiatives. In 2015, Fast Company ranked Perkins+Will among “The World’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Architecture.”
Located in the heart of the nation’s capital, the Washington, DC office is a diverse practice delivering thoughtful, transformative, client-focused solutions. As a leader in the marketplace, our client roster includes institutional, corporate, government and individual leaders who are on the forefront of building and shaping our region.
For more information, visit www.perkinswill.com.