The new headquarters space for the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in Washington, D.C., is an innovative example of office space planning driven by a desire to create a more collaborative culture for the organization. The newly occupied space, encompassing 33,481 square feet on two floors in a recently renovated building, brings together in one location the ULI global headquarters staff, the ULI Americas staff, and the local ULI Washington staff. The open-space office plan is designed to encourage interaction, communication, and collaboration, and includes a variety of work settings, including individual workstations, small workrooms, lounge areas with comfortable seating, numerous meeting rooms of various sizes, telephone rooms, two large café and kitchen areas, a member area, and a large multipurpose/conference space. Staff members are free to choose whichever work setting best suits their needs; few workstations are assigned.
Transforming the historic Portland Armory into a performing arts center required a thoughtful approach as well as creative financing and design. Built in 1891, the armory stood for many years as one of its neighborhood’s defining elements, but by the turn of the 21st century it was in dire need of repair. Armed with a sales pitch for his partners and a plan for Portland Center Stage (PCS)—the city’s premier theater company—to raise funds to buy the armory, local developer Robert Gerding set out to convert the former fortress into a permanent home for PCS by reconstructing its distinctive facade and installing a state-of-the-art theater within. The redeveloped Gerding Theater achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification at the Platinum level, becoming the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, as well as the first performing arts center, to do so.
Although it is the second-largest 19th-century building in Portland, the armory has a footprint of only 20,000 square feet (1,858 m2). And the theater required 55,000 square feet (5,110 m2). The solution was to excavate 30 feet (9 m) below street level—requiring extensive shoring—to create enough volume to fit a 200-seat “black box” theater (placed underground), a 599-seat main theater, rehearsal spaces, and administrative offices.
