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Photo © Trent Bell Photography Photo © Trent Bell Photography
The angled canopy over the reception desk. Meeting rooms adjacent to the reception area.
for any firm. “I have to give the board credit,” he said. “I used a Project: National Council of Architectural
little bit of humor: Would they want to report to the 14 of them Registration Boards,
as the client? I think not. You can’t decide [this sort of thing] by Washington, DC
committee. They were very respectful.”
That said, both Armstrong and the OTJ team felt that it Architect: OTJ Architects
would be wise to take advantage of the expertise among NCARB Structural Engineer: SK&A Structural Engineers, PLLC
staff members, a number of whom are architects themselves. MEP Engineer: Blue Moon Engineering
“We interviewed every leader in the organization,” said General Contractor: Bognet Construction
Elizabeth Long, AIA, LEED AP, one of three partners at OTJ
who worked on the project. “We conducted vision sessions with multiple meetings while also encouraging greater interaction
a cross-section of staff members. We surveyed and walked their among the volunteers and staff. That said, neither the client nor
[existing] space, and got to know the way they were working the design team wanted visitors to be walking through the staff
and the way they wanted to work.” workspace routinely, which could be distracting.
One of the key takeaways of this research was that the NCARB also directed the design team to avoid lavish gestures
office was evolving into more of a conference center. “We have a and materials. “We had to walk a fine line because of who we
staff of over 100 people,” noted Doug Morton, vice president for work with,” said Armstrong, who is conscious of perceptions of
administration, “but also almost 400 volunteers” who frequently the organization within the architectural community. “Having
visit the headquarters for committee meetings and other business an emphasis on design was important and necessary, but
gatherings. NCARB leaders wanted a space that could handle because we are a service organization, we can’t be too fancy.”
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