Brilliantly Big and Ingeniously Small

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Q&A with PaulSicari of McDermott Will & Emery LLPand Terri Barnhartof GenslerBy Beth Herman

In a ribbon-cutting, red letter day kind of move from 60013^th Street NW, international law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP officially took up residence on Monday in the shadow of the Capitol -- 500North Capitol Street NW. Surely a view from the top.
Jettisoning a 205,000 s.f. former floorplate with superfluousaspects—in light of current video-conferencing technology—such as outmoded two-to-six-personconference rooms for out of townvisitors, the decision to relocate the 450-member firm to 185,000 s.f. in an aging 1966 structurewas a two-year (ad)venture in the making. An aggressive renovation process tookaround six months. DCMud spoke withMcDermott Will & Emery LLP office administrator Paul Sicari and TerriBarnhart, a design director in the D.C. office of architecture firm Gensler, both of whom, along with MWE’sdesign committee, imagined and executed the renovation.
DCMud: What can you tell us aboutthe site?
Barnhart: Whenit was offered by Boston Properties and Clark Enterprises, it was a building onthe boards for a renovation for a B-class upgrade. We ended up doing a muchmore extensive renovation than was originally intended.
Sicari: It wasthe first home of the SEC, and when they moved out, a division of the IRS movedin and had been there for years.
DCMud: So we’re talking about everything:mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems, elevators, a labyrinth of safetyand security systems, aesthetics—a total gutting.
Sicari: On thedozens of hard hat tours I gave, I’d tell people the only thing that stayed wasthe concrete, but to that we made changes too. In fact we took the roof off thebuilding and added a 9th floor with a roof terrace, (affectionately) called the10^th floor.
DCMud: Explain the program.
Barnhart: MWEput together a design committee, and we did a visioning session with them tosee how to transform the building. We came up with the catch phrase ‘brilliantlybig and ingeniously small.’ It represented how a global firm—there’s somethingvery unique about them—how they hold their relationship with their clients, andthey wanted to represent that. There’s a lot of client focus and community service built into the firm’s culture as well.
DCMud: So how did this manifest inthe design?
Barnhart: We translated the culture into finishes andmaterials where we have this very large space for the conference center, andcertain collaboration areas, but then we tried to focus it down into patternsand materials with different scales throughout. The artwork responds to that aswell.


Sicari: Thevisioning session Gensler conducted with the committee was a virtual tippingpoint for me in setting the tone and design of the space. The catch phrasereally helped define us: We’re an Am Law top 20 law firm, but whatdifferentiates us from our competitors is we have a lot more of these customizedsmaller practice groups. Our competitors probably don’t have an alcohol/ beveragegroup. You almost never find a substantial IP prosecution group. We wantclients to feel like it’s a boutique firm, even though we’re a giant footprint.‘Brilliantly big and ingeniously small’ became the lens through which we lookedto design our spaces.
DCMud: How did you define spaces?
Sicari: With afirm made up of a lot of small practices, it’s easy for people to get intotheir silos so they don’t get to know the person down the hall. Even though it’sstill a law firm with a lot of walls, we talked about taking a space and makingit more of an open concept. We used a lot of glass in the design. We createdzones where people are forced to interact. Law firms in the past tended tocreate three or four copy areas— a copy area on each floor in the name ofconvenience. We said we don’t want that—we want to create one giant space wherepeople might bump into one another and get to know each other.DCMud: Doesn’t that mitigateproductivity?
Sicari: Wecreated spaces where people can grab coffee, or put their lunch, or pick up acolor print job, and thereby interact with their colleagues. Knowing yourneighbor is just as important to us as is someone being fast at picking upcopies.
DCMud: Are there examples of how thefirm may have increased productivity through design?
Sicari: A ‘teamroom’ is a great example of a concept that we had. It wasn’t about a room; itwas about workflow and providing better support not just for our lawyers butfor our clients in this more technological 24/7 age that we live in. A teamroom is a space for a collection of three or four secretaries working staggeredshifts and hours, so that we can provide uninterrupted coverage 12 hours a day,five days a week. This kind of thing used to be called a secretarial pool, butthat implies anonymity.
DCMud: We understand you are seekingLEED Gold for this reconditioned space. Can you talk about the materials used?

Barnhart: Veneersand substrates are FSC-certified. We used low-VOC paints, glues and sealants,and low-flow plumbing as well as higher efficiency VAV’s. Because of thebuilding’s location and repurposing in an urban setting, we were able to obtainpoints as well. Occupancy sensors are in place and a lot of glass brings innatural light. There is a fitness center and bike racks.
Sicari: Thebuilding is now known as the McDermott building and is within eye shot ofeveryone who passes through Union Station. That was an exciting element forthis location as well. We are really proud to be here.

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