Walking the walk

How do workplace experts work? Well, Wingate Hughes will show you. Embracing their philosophy of pushing design and integrating detail to create a space that feels like home, they have created a workspace that truly represents what they offer their clients—strategic solutions that are beautiful and infused with personality. Anyone entering their space on the 3rd floor of a boutique building on DC’s famed K Street can see that this architecture firm is more than workstations and clean finishes.

Wingate Hughes Architects was founded in 2010 by Gavin Wingate Bowie and Gavin Hughes Daniels. Since that time, they have grown the relationship-driven firm into a robust operation. Located at 1424 K Street, the firm’s office serves as a showcase for its distinguished and eclectic work product. When you step off the elevator directly into Wingate Hughes’ space, you’ll find more than 20 employees hard at work in an open and avant-garde setting with the sounds of Daniels’ favorite pop artist, Kesha, playing overhead.

Since its start, the company has doubled in size every year. Throughout this growth, JLL’s Andy O’Brien has worked with Daniels to identify creative and efficient office space to drive employee productivity and serve as a showcase for the firm’s clients. By 2017, the firm had outgrown its 3,000 square foot office and needed more space to accommodate a workload of over 100 projects per year. Daniels admits, while he and his team design space for clients every day, they had no idea what they were looking for when it came to their own space—and that’s where Andy stepped in. During the search, there was a point when they thought they found the perfect space for Wingate Hughes but after working through the details, decided it might not be the best fit. So, Andy advised Daniels to wait until he felt right about it. A year later, Andy and Zach Boroson of JLL found the perfect spot: a full floor at 1424 K Street NW in a boutique building in downtown Washington, DC. To top it off, the space had previously been occupied by a Wingate Hughes client, so their design sensibility was already incorporated into the space. Andy and Zach were also able to secure a sub-tenant to backfill their 3,000 square foot space.

Today, the firm’s headquarters boasts a 6,000 square foot full floor office with a mix of open-bench seating, private offices, three conference rooms and beautiful windows fronting K Street. The space allows the team to get to know their clients, so they can create a customized design for them. In addition to providing a collaborative workplace setting, the office is strategically located downtown, near Franklin Square. A variety of food options, a Metro station and bus stops are all within walking distance. As Daniels puts it, “we wanted it all and we got it.”