Our friends and sponsors at office furniture supplier MOI are now just a half block from Bisneyland, at LEED Platinum-certified 1200 19th St. NW. They moved in August (about when we opened our new space), and we took the grand tour last week. We snapped a few team members in this office set-up from Vitra, which promotestransparency and communication with clean lines (no closed-off cubicles) and glass walls. There’s also a definite pragmatism to the layout: Workspace is divvied based on need, not on position (so designers with two computer monitors have more space than sales people, who are often out of the office).
Our tour guides: marketing director Heather Davis and biz dev and marketing VP Joanna Hoffschneider. They tell us the move from a more suburban office setting in Arlington to the District “was critical to show their best collections in a 21st century way.” Prompted by an expiring lease, the move Downtown takes MOI within a short cab ride or walk from manufacturers and business partners. The open space also lets it practice the solutions it is trying to provide, Joanna says. Business this year has been strong with wins in the government, education, and private sectors. A focus for 2011: education and thought leadership in the design industry and general community, Heather tells us. This includes collaboration with theCarpenter’s Shelter, D.A.S.H. and the Real Estate Games.
One of Joanna’s favorite features of the new space is theseshelving units that electronically slide along tracks in the floor. We snapped project management director Dave Wittle and DC sales director Ti Schulze showing off the unit. Another strategic decision was taking the second floor. “We wanted to have engagement with the street,” Heather says (notice M Street behind the gentlemen). Though one of four offices (the HQ is in Baltimore, and satellites are in Richmond and Norfolk/Virginia Beach), the DC office has become the office of envy, Joanna says. Find more info on MOI here. (You also may have seen some of its offerings at our recent Super Schmooze in the corner lounge areas.)
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