Step into the new K Street digs of architecture firm KTGY, and the experience will hit all of the senses.
This week the firm began working out of the 15,000-square-foot home in Alexander Court, 2001 K St. NW, cementing a long-planned move from Northern Virginia that firm leaders say will play a role in reinvigorating downtown. But it’s also been a chance for the firm to remake its workspace for the modern age, said associate principal Brian Fraser, who led our tour of the office.
“We still look at it as, being together is a lot better, even if you don’t have to be together 100% of the time,” Fraser said. “There’s an energy in the space when people are there, and that pulls people to come in.”
A bocage of snake plants, philodendrons and other greenery surround each bank of desks — with couches, lounging and huddle areas lining the walls. Transparent whiteboards break the sound in the room but not the views. Then there’s the smell — workers were installing a wall made of recycled wine corks when I walked through, leaving a distinctly smoky, natural scent. The new office, inside the 800,000-square-foot Alexander Court, was designed with the help of interior design firm Deceder Group and Rockrose, the building’s owner.
The “new office smell” might not last, but Fraser said the firm hopes the space brings new perspective. It is a specialist in residential, retail and hospitality projects, so its office reflects the comfortable feel of hotels, bars and homes it wants to design.
The firm came to Greater Washington when it acquired Tysons-based CAX Architects in 2010 and had grown regionally to 60 employees and $13.57 million in local billings in 2022, according to Washington Business Journal research. The firm’s local office had been based out of 8609 Westwood Center Drive in Tysons. The District offered to support the move into the city with a grant from its Vitality Fund, but KTGY ultimately declined. Though it still made the leap, firm leaders declined to discuss why it did so without the incentives.
At Alexander Court, owned by Rockrose Development Corp., KTGY occupies a second-floor corner office where its staff can feel better connected to the city and its people than a suburban space.
“We still believe in the city and the D.C. metro, and being where the energy is,” Fraser said.
