DC-based design association opens ‘Office of the Future’

In this handout photo, the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers is seen. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
In this handout photo, the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers is seen. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. The office furniture is environmentally friendly. All of the textiles were manufactured from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material. Staffers can also use a reservation system to choose from different workplace environments based on what they’re doing, from team meetings to private, individual work. The ASID’s new headquarters hopes to achieve Platinum LEED designation from the U.S. Green Building Council plus a new designation called the WELL Building standard, given to offices and buildings that strive to improve the health and wellness of the people working in them. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
In this handout photo, plants grow in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy Liz Wainger/Wainger Group)
In this handout photo, plants grow in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy Liz Wainger/Wainger Group)
In this handout photo, an herb garden grows in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
In this handout photo, an herb garden grows in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The office of the future employs a “biophilic design” meaning there are plants everywhere. “Biophilic design strategies … reduce stress and trigger elevated levels of cognitive and emotional performance in occupants,” according to the society. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy Liz Wainger/Wainger Group)
In this handout photo, the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers is seen. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
The office furniture is also environmentally friendly. All of the textiles were manufactured from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material. Staffers can also use a reservation system to choose from different workplace environments based on what they’re doing, from team meetings to private, individual work. The ASID’s new headquarters hopes to achieve Platinum LEED designation from the U.S. Green Building Council plus a new designation called the WELL Building standard, given to offices and buildings that strive to improve the health and wellness of the people working in them. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
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In this handout photo, the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers is seen. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
In this handout photo, plants grow in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy Liz Wainger/Wainger Group)
In this handout photo, an herb garden grows in the windows of the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)
In this handout photo, the new home for the American Society of Interior Designers is seen. The staff has moved into the new space at 1152 15th Street NW where they are testing the new office environs with the help of Cornell University. The space is intended to be a lab to test new standards and metrics for the office of the future. (Courtesy American Society of Interior Designers)

WASHINGTON — The American Society of Interior Designers has moved into its new headquarters — what it calls a living laboratory for setting new standards and metrics for the office of the future.

The society sold its former Massachusetts Avenue headquarters two years ago and has been operating out of a WeWork co-share facility in Chinatown while architects Perkins + Will put its new, 8,364-square-foot home together. Society staff moved in last month.

It is leasing the space from Carr Properties at 1152 15th Street NW.

In this case, the office of the future employs a “biophilic design” meaning there are plants everywhere.

“Biophilic design strategies … reduce stress and trigger elevated levels of cognitive and emotional performance in occupants,” according to the society.

There is even an indoor herb garden.

Beyond plants, the new ASID headquarters incorporates a variety of sensor and software applications measuring environmental attributes and assessing how they influence occupant behavior and comfort. That includes temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide levels, sound levels and water quality.

Society staff members have volunteered to take part in a research study with Cornell University. Employees wear social sensing monitors that measure speech patterns and body movement.

“Ultimately, we expect the ASID collaboration with Perkins + Will to inspire many more healthy and productive workplaces in the 21st century,” said ASID chief executive Randy Fiser.

The office furniture is also environmentally friendly. All of the textiles were manufactured from 100 percent post-consumer recycled material.

Staffers can also use a reservation system to choose from different workplace environments based on what they’re doing, from team meetings to private, individual work.

The ASID’s new headquarters hopes to achieve Platinum LEED designation from the U.S. Green Building Council plus a new designation called the WELL Building standard, given to offices and buildings that strive to improve the health and wellness of the people working in them.

Jeff Clabaugh

Jeff Clabaugh has spent 20 years covering the Washington region's economy and financial markets for WTOP as part of a partnership with the Washington Business Journal, and officially joined the WTOP newsroom staff in January 2016.

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