With an influence almost as great as its global reach, Pact is an international development
organization creating social impact in nearly 40 countries across the world. For their headquarters,
located in Washington D.C., they envisioned a space inspired by their global workforce
with the functionality to support it.

Located on the top floor of a once prominent arena, the project location itself informed
much of the space planning and overall design for Pact’s new office. Designers took what
may have been perceived as a constraint and utilized the unique architectural elements of
the building to create a polished design that accentuates its expansive vaulted ceiling, history,
and raw materiality. Phone rooms are tucked beneath buttresses, quiet heads down
space is found on mezzanines, and light fixtures highlight and create intricate shadows on
prominent surfaces. Careful and thoughtful placement of the lighting and round unpainted
ductwork accentuates the beauty of the existing patina on the vaulted ceiling. Acoustical
solutions also blend seamlessly into the ceiling allowing the building’s history to remain a
focal point while bold colors, textures, and patterns integrate the global reach that is foundational
to Pact.

With its expansive floor plate and impressive ceiling height, designers knew the space
could easily overwhelm its occupants. In response, they worked diligently to satisfy the
client’s expectation of an open work environment using furniture as a visual interruption
to the vast plane while strategically placing meeting rooms where the structure innately
provided more acoustic privacy. Since a majority of Pact’s employees sit at workstations,
broad aisles with lounge seating were introduced to provide an implied sense of separation
and privacy while doubling as expansion space for future growth. Newly created mezzanine
spaces above the building core allow staff the flexibility to work away from their desk
should they require a different posture or level of privacy. Innovation Workshops exist on
each end of the floor plate to function as ever-evolving collaboration spaces intended for
highly dynamic group work. Teaming pods are situated between workstations but are
separated by retractable acoustic curtains allowing for privacy while supporting extended
team stays. Each space supports multiple seating and posture options for long term use
and overall employee wellbeing.

Completed in December 2020, Pact’s space is fluent in their culture and the organizations
global reach. From the moment you enter the space, their story unfolds before you and
carries you throughout. Even the most unassuming guest can appreciate the seamless connections
between Pact’s mission, the design, and the architecture of the historic building

General Contractor: D|WATTS Construction
MEP Engineering: Greenman-Pedersen, Inc.
Photography: Spielmann Studio