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“The historic preservation goal here was to expose as much of
the original structure as possible,” explained Will Teass, AIA, LEED
AP, founder and managing principal of Teass\Warren Architects.
The space, with a steeply pitched roof and no windows at eye level,
presented design challenges, but it benefited from two levels of
clerestory windows pulling in plenty of natural light and an eye-
catching industrial ceiling profile. The architects’ task was to create
a space for approximately 30 employees, some accommodated in
an open office area and others in private offices. In addition, the
program called for two conference rooms, several smaller telephone
rooms, and a kitchen.
“A big challenge was the private offices that had no exterior
windows,” recalled Teass. “They risked being cave-like.” The
solution was careful interior lighting and a glass wall system that
allows the private offices lining the perimeter of the floor to look
out to the open work area and up into the building’s impressive
industrial structure. The architect tips his hat to the client, whose
idea it was to expose in some of the private offices even more of
the steel roof trusses than was called for in his original design.
The two conference rooms are essentially free-standing steel
cubes, each with an open oculus looking up into the roof trusses,
om.
pulling in light, and adding visual interest. The massive overhead
crane dominates the space leaving no doubt about the building’s
industrial heritage. The architect noted that several of the ground-
floor tenants were offered the crane to incorporate into their spaces
but declined, leaving it available to the eager Mercury client.
Teass refers to the main circulation axis that leads through the
length of the office space as the “street.” The floor finishes differ-
entiate the traffic flow. The striated pattern of the “street” floor
tiles breaks down the scale, and all of the floor finishes set a
mechanical, industrial tone. There is no receptionist function or
space; visitors are simply buzzed up from the street entrance of
the building. The open work area has the feel of a newsroom and
is finished in a neutral palette of colors and materials with jolts of
vibrant orange.
“We were in Class A office space in Penn Quarter where the
vibe was high-end law firm,” explained CEO Mahoney, describing
the firm’s previous Washington office. It was a traditional, generic
design of private offices without open work areas. Mahoney and his
team knew that proximity to the US Capitol was essential to their
business, and looked for space in both Penn Quarter and The
Yards. “We felt The Yards had a fresher vibe and we liked the
ability to fashion a non-traditional space. The Boilermaker offered
visual pizzazz.”
According to Mahoney, the Mercury headquarters office in
New York City made the switch to open office design years ago,
when then-mayor Michael Bloomberg famously introduced an
open “Bullpen” for his City Hall staff that mimicked the Wall
Street trading floors he was familiar with. “We loved it in New
York and we wanted it for our space in Washington.”
Mahoney reports that in addition to the crane and all the
steel, visiting clients are drawn to a piece of Mercury corporate
history hanging in the kitchen. There, the mangled hood of a
Porsche GT3 Formula One racecar, sponsored by Mercury and
bearing its logo, commemorates a spectacular racetrack crash.
“And never undersell the value of 81 home games,” Mahoney
said referring to the nearby Nationals Ballpark. Our staff and
clients enjoy going there and we love the urban density and what
the Yards is becoming.”

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