Photography: Thomas McConnell
IA Interior Architects designed the offices for law firm Watt Tieder Hoffar & Fitzgerald LLP, located in McLean, Virginia.
Watt, Tieder, Hoffar & Fitzgerald is a law firm focused on global construction with offices throughout the United States. After a visioning session and focus groups with its McLean, Virginia partners, the IA design team established project goals for their office relocation focused on creating an environment that fosters staff collaboration and community building. Space efficiency was a prerequisite, while brightness, transparency, and active design complement their people-centered approach.
The project layout was then heavily weighed on the building’s solar orientation, analyzed by the IA team. The play of abundant, natural light now complements the circadian rhythm of the workday and provides optimum conditions late in the afternoon when the firm’s social exchanges peak. Central to the design, the celebration of light nurtures wellbeing and productivity, and expresses the firm’s redefined, flatter hierarchy, transparent organization, and collaborative management style.
