The Washington, DC, offices for this New York-based law firm occupy two floors that total 60,000 square feet in a mid-block office building. One floor required renovation in place, while the other floor involved a completely new build-out. The design strategy called for the renovated facility to achieve the same level of design as the new floors; a bright work environment; administrative workstations that support the work processes of these essential support functions, while concealing the usual clutter associated with law firms; and an image that reflects the stature of the firm without being too formal or exhibiting excessive design overtones.

Planning concepts yielded service corridors for support functions such as pantries and fax, printer, and copy areas, as well as storage which helped isolate traditional areas of clutter. Locating copy and printer areas adjacent to war rooms also served to contain clutter by allowing work functions to be immediately near areas of work. Working with a committee of administrative personnel, a prototype workstation was created that incorporated the need for computer work and associated document collating.