Lida Lewis
PASSIONATE DESIGNER
EDUCATOR | THOUGHT LEADER
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB)
I had the opportunity to work with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) to create their new space in downtown DC. The MSRB "works to protect investors, municipal entities and the public interest by promoting a fair and efficient municipal market, regulating firms that engage in municipal securities and advisory activities, and promoting market transparency". When I first met with them, they were on 3 floors in the Alexandria, VA area, and debating between the merits of having a separated facility between northern Virginia and downtown DC. Working with the client and their brokerage representation, I worked with my team to develop a series of test fits for various locations, and visited multiple final locations to ensure we were informed on the merits and shortcomings of each space in the LOI negotiation process.
I worked closely with the MSRB to design an entirely new space standard, one with a higher open office proportion and less "levels" of space types. This has been effective in managing the ongoing occupancy needs of the space, affording flexibility in the placement of teams and the distribution of departments. I also worked carefully to ensure that a high proportion of the space savings from office size standards were redistributed to a variety of meeting and support space areas. This has been essential in ensuring that the MSRB staff can continue to work effectively--and perhaps even more so than before, as many of the smaller in-office meeting spaces have now given way to larger and more comfortably appointed meeting, lounge, and phone room spaces.
We also used surveys to ensure that we had input from across the various departments and levels of the organization on what we needed for the new space, as well as to inform the building search process. This allows those who don't feel comfortable speaking up in larger groups and meetings to have a voice in the conversation, and allows us to sort perspectives on space needs by department, and levels of the organization. We can also use this to gauge interest in learning more about the potential for telecommuting, hot desking, varieties of sizes and types of amenities, and other alternative planning items throughout the organization. While not all departments may be interested in all space alternatives, this provides the opportunity to parse out whether some departments have different needs better supported by different space types than others. A sampling of questions and results:
Ultimately, we found the MSRB a new home off of Franklin Park in DC, in a building with a grand facade and a traditional architecture style. To effectively manage the next phases of the project, I developed detailed pricing plans to inform our budget projections. This is a critical step I always encourage to happen no later than the space planning phase, to ensure that moving forward we, as a team, are able to effectively guide the client through options which are feasible within their budget. This also enables early conversations about the balance of the budget between construction and furniture, and what this means for other elements of the budget, to ensure we're all prepared for the decisions ahead.
Working through design, we had to merge some dissimilar goals that arose from the survey and conversations with departments about their needs. The head of the organization was used to the style of financial and law offices in NYC, while the large number of IT staff were more interested in a tech startup look. Though these are two tricky aesthetics to combine, and bring in at a competitive nonprofit budget, the end design successfully maintained a high end traditional aesthetic through the public facing areas of the space, and leaned a bit more toward modern design in the staff lounges, lunchrooms, and IT area spaces.
Ultimately, the final design was on budget, well received by staff, and appreciated by all as a great new home for the MSRB for the board, leadership, staff, and visitors alike. One of my favorite design finds were the beautiful old bonds we found when clearing out the space, and were able to scan and make into a mural on the glass dividing wall in the reception area. My favorite space is definitely the lunchroom--though in the rear alley facade, the 10th floor afforded so much natural light access and such and expansive window line that we were able to deliver on all staff requests for the space better than I'd ever been able to before.
