This month’s featured project encapsulates the culture of an entire city in one office.
Renowned the world over, Edelman is a global communications firm that partners with businesses and organizations to evolve, promote and protect their brands and reputations.
This project was an occupied renovation that showcases Edelman’s commitment to excellence, curiosity and courage.
Design + Values
Edelman DC sought an office environment that takes cue from the civil planning and structure of Washington DC’s storied and identifiable neighborhoods. Through light touches of nature and modern interpretations of urban textures observed in the city, a visitor to this office travels through a variety of dazzling local experiences.
Given Edelman’s highly collaborative culture, team-oriented environments balance out individual workstations throughout the space. Variety and choice of work settings is crucial to the Edelman employee.
Each team member has a sit-to-stand desk with in addition to a variety of work settings to keep them energized throughout the day, making the DC office first in the organization to offer sit-to-stand benching for all staff.
Highlights from The Hill
To capture the intricacies of Washington DC, this project required well-planned scenes and settings with a variety of finishes, custom touches and accessories to convey the bustling sights of the iconic city.
Reception
Dedicated to both clients and employees, the reception space shares the openness of a hospitality suite. A sophisticated palette pairs well with the oversized floor graphic of Washington Circle, which anchors the visitor to the city’s history upon entering the office.
Townhall
This open collaboration space can be used as an area for impromptu meetings or group huddles. It also makes for a perfect location to hold a true townhall meeting, with the ability to host all employees on the floor.
Boardroom
The office boardroom features a glass front that takes clue from city’s vitrine of shops. The custom sunrise wallpaper is inspired by DC’s pink cherry blossoms. Additional pops of Edelman’s signature blue throughout prove that furniture is a great avenue for branding a workplace.
“My favorite area is the reception and the adjacent boardroom. Its open and welcoming with nods to formality and calm library, poetic atmosphere. The floor stencils and curtains add softness and a layer of texture. The Boardroom gives a celebration nod to city’s vitrine of shops, while crisp and architectural, it has the warmth and is balance with the soft wallcovering on the back wall of the space that you can see through the vitrine glass.” -Lena Kitson, Gensler
Working lounge
The multi-purpose working lounge is designed to host luncheons or casual meetings and can also be included in larger town hall events. This space honors the gardens of DC with green textures, a variety of woods and “water” like pendants.
The notable Dupont Circle is also featured in this area, which represents the city’s ability to constantly rebuild and find new ways to attract visitors. Dupont Circle has proven to be an up and coming center of action for DC.
Bar
Aimed to represent DC’s various bars and coffee shops, this is a space for celebration. By mixing in handmade items that feel “old fashion” with industrial metals and wooden touches, the space brings to life Edelman’s rich history and international standing.
The bar features a reinterpretation of a variety of urban textures and the flooring features a stenciled concrete pattern tile. The pattern is meant to wear out over time, just as travelers through the city of DC contribute to the transformation and erosion of historic streets.
Congratulations to Gensler Chicago and Edelman on a successful partnership creating this unique space. At Corporate Concepts, we strive to provide business furniture solutions that strengthen brands and provide effective, high-functioning solutions for teams and visitors alike.
For any company with a vision to create something new, bold and creative, our research-based solutions establish functional spaces that empower people to do their best work.
For help elevating your company culture, contact us to discuss your project.
A special thanks to Clementine Dubourdieu and Lena Kitson from Gensler for their help with this piece and our own Silvia Vergara for facilitating.