MIG Offices
2,200 SF
Washington, DC
Photos: Chuck Choi
2008 AIA New York Chapter Design Award Winner
The Maritime Intelligence Group is an intelligence consulting group focused on water-based activities. At our initial meeting, they requested us to provide an alternative to the prevailing federal style interiors found in DC.
As an overall approach, we decided to emphasize the raw, unadorned space. With a rational layout, we selected subdued materials and colors as a response to the client’s business culture. Wherever possible, detailing was kept clear and simple. New walls and ceilings were treated more like interventions than permanent fixtures.
As a subtext to the design, we explored custom lighting concepts in lieu of typical office fixtures. Above the main workstations a series of bare, T8 fluorescent strips hover above a sheet of reflective acrylic. They reflect light downward. The felt-clad divider walls between desks have modified, undercabinet lights for task lighting. The fluorescent lighting above the offices provide light through sheets of polycarbonate for diffused, even lighting.
Other materials include a recycled polypropylene foam for acoustic and tackable surfaces and acid-etched, laminated glass. Along the entire window wall, a translucent parachute fabric obscures the random and odd-shaped windows. Dark wood panels identify the entry and conference room storage wall.
