The design solution for Washington Gas, a regulated utility founded in 1848 by congressional charter, complimented a larger effort to consolidate three regional offices and 800 employees into a single, energy-efficient, modern campus on a 20-acre site. Design for the subsequent 190,000-SF office building and 75,000-SF technology center incorporated sustainable technologies — including the first commercial application of a Bloom fuel cell for on-site electricity — and strategies aimed at encouraging collaboration.

The office interior makes use of exposed structural frames and building systems to complement the utility’s industrial identity, with work spaces and a central “main street” circulation path for employee interaction and teamwork as three offices merged into one.