Financial Services Company Technology Hub

Creating employee commons

• Following a stay/go analysis of its Northern Virginia real estate, this government-sponsored fintech company decided to lease 720,000 SF in a new multi-tenant office building located at the gateway to a future 22-acre corporate campus for a growing mix of technology companies. We joined the developer’s architect in designing key features of the base building, which is organized as two towers above a parking and retail podium. One of our most important contributions was to create a large floor on top of the podium that bridges between the two towers. The floor creates an employee commons that provides entry to each tower and includes food service, a conference and training center, a tech lab, an innovation showcase, and lively informal collaboration and gathering space. Its green roof terrace, a desirable outdoor amenity for the building’s users, contributes to the sustainability strategy.

7th floor University City

A flexible technology workplace for the future

Conference room

The new workplace was designed for the 4,400-person Operations & Technology Division. Several of its departments use a collaborative Agile method, working in squads, tribes, and other groupings. Some utilize the cross-team synchronization of a release train model. Others have a more individual, focused work style typical of corporate open offices. The design team undertook numerous studies of modular work spaces and furnishings that can give large and small teams the flexibility to adjust their work environments to specific assignments. This approach proved fruitful when the design team re-organized the layouts for post-pandemic occupancy.