Celebrating Craft and Culture
Hensel Phelps, Mid Atlantic District Office
Workplace, Interiors
When tasked with designing the district office for a company of builders passionate about craft, the stakes were high to create a modern office environment that would embody the integrity of the client’s construction work and support the diverse activities of its employees. ZGF worked closely with the client, Hensel Phelps, to conceive of a branded design solution authentic to its values.
Location
McLean, VA
Square Feet
30,000
Completion date
2018
The branded experience begins in the elevator lobby, where vinyl floor graphics lead visitors into the reception area.
A custom reception desk is engraved with the Hensel Phelps logo and evokes craft through its rustic materiality.
A feature wood-block wall in the reception area celebrates employees who have shaped the culture of the Mid Atlantic District Office.
To evoke the high quality of Hensel Phelps’ craft, a material palette of blackened steel, gun-metal, reclaimed wood, and concrete floors was carefully curated. Throughout the office, highly finished spaces are peeled back to reveal the building’s underlying bones as a nod to Hensel Phelps’ reputation for building both complex, high-performance buildings and refined interior environments. Hensel Phelps’ signature colors—crimson and gold—are used as bright accents throughout the office.
The Stich, an oblique crimson ceiling fissure, connects primary social zones and draws users through the space.
The raw material palette is continued in the kitchen—an inviting hearth where employees can gather.
The new office houses diverse space types—open plan workstations, private offices, privacy nooks, and digital collaboration zones—to provide staff with flexibility and choice, as well as dedicated space for collaborative or focused work. Communal kitchens invite employees to gather, and a large multipurpose room features flexible partitions to support everything from employee training sessions to company events.
A third of the open office environment accommodates hoteling for staff who are back at the district office between field assignments.
Two- to three-person Zoom rooms allow smaller teams to seamlessly collaborate with colleagues across distances.
Diverse meeting areas, like the Innovation Lounge, facilitate ideation with different digital and analog tools.
Environmental graphic installations and signage contribute to the branded environment and express Hensel Phelps’ legacy as a service provider and builder of some of the country’s most significant projects. A woodblock wall in the reception area honors the individuals who have celebrated 20+ year careers at Hensel Phelps and who have helped to shape the culture of the Mid-Atlantic District Office. A timeline wraps the interior core walls and graphically narrates the history of Hensel Phelps nationally and in the region. The company’s significant contributions in the DC metro region are represented in a tone-on-tone silhouette graphic in the kitchen. Office, workstation, and room identification provide wayfinding throughout the office.
Major company and regional milestones are represented throughout the timeline , which wraps around the office core. The graphic features black and white photographs and crimson vinyl bands transcending to the floor to showcase Hensel Phelps' most significant projects and historic milestones.
Undulating oak blocks are laser etched in light and dark tones with employee portraits, their Ground Breaking (Hire) date, and Topping Off (Retirement) date.
Expensify, Portland Office
Cedars-Sinai, 6500 Wilshire Boulevard, 20th Floor, FPDC Relocation
Google, Spruce Goose
Amazon / JBG Smith, HQ2 at Met Park
