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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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