1101 K Street NW

Reenvisioning this downtown DC property to compete in a crowded marketplace, this repositioning involves upgrades to the entryway and lobby experience, as well as the addition of a modern amenity package to appeal to today’s tenants. A new brand strategy supports and expands on the new vision for a fresh take on K Street prestige and energy.

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A reimagined entrance embraces the urban streetscape with branded signage and elegant matte black light fixtures. Visible from the street, a 33 by 24-foot 3D wood sculptural installation adds intrigue to what was previously a blank green glass wall. The custom three-dimensional piece is composed of maple wood dowels varying in size and tone which create a sense of depth and movement to reveal a topographical map of the area surrounding Rock Creek Park, including 1101 K Street.

A dramatic double-height lobby, overlooking a concourse level amenity center, invites guests across a glass and metal bridge walkway towards a new custom millwork-wrapped reception desk. Remnants of the original design’s predominant use of green glass are concealed by millwork cohesive to the new aesthetic, including the bridge’s underside, visible from the amenity center and wrapped in black metal panels. Throughout, a refined professional palette–which translates to marketing materials–of blue and green tones allude to the original glass color.

“1101 K Street delivered a comprehensive renovation in September of 2021. The Avison Young agency team has since leased approximately 120,000 RSF of office space owing primarily to the quality of the renovation, which was designed by Hickok Cole. Leasing activity at the Building remains strong in spite of recent market headwinds; a testament to the intersection of a variety of factors, not least of which are the new amenities and aesthetics.”
— Greg Tomasso, Avison Young

A collaborative tenant lounge offers multiple opportunities to work or socialize with curved, semi-insulated booths, a central café, private wellness and meeting rooms, and phone booths. Brighter colors and abstract smoke wallcovering invite creativity and distinguish it from the natural aesthetic of other amenity spaces. Fabric-wrapped acoustic slatted panels allow the ceiling to remain uncovered for an industrial feel without compromising acoustics. Stone flooring from the lobby transitions to a warmer chevron-patterned wood flooring that reappears throughout.

Opposite the tenant lounge, a state-of-the-art, 185-guest conference center features flexible partitions, allowing for multiple meetings to take place at once. Dynamic rope-like lighting fixtures drape the conference ceiling and underscore its depth. Small to mid-size rooms surround the main conference center to support additional meetings.

Down the hall, a new fitness facility features luxury equipment and studios for private sessions while a ride-in bike room offers commuters lockers, showers, towel service, and maintenance stations. Wallcoverings in both secondary meeting rooms and the fitness center subtly depict abstract wilderness scenes.

Navigating Sequence + Construction

Renovations to the formally tenant-occupied concourse level required a strategic approach. To create an open-plan amenity center, we knocked down the wall connecting to a private mail room and discovered the floor slabs within the two spaces varied in height. To insert the tenant lounge’s curved foldable glass partition, we worked with our general contractor to gradually ramp up the floor slab in the lower open-plan center to the level of the tenant lounge’s floor level for a seamless transition. Working around the building’s corner restaurant tenant infrastructure, directly above the new fitness facility, was an additional challenge. During construction, we took extra coordination and communication precautions to ensure the restaurant’s plumbing remained intact during a COVID service pause.

Let It Move You

Working with Avison Young, Hickok Cole Creative developed a brand repositioning for 1101K anchored on the exciting new amenities and activated by the energy of K Street. Creative’s scope included brand strategy, messaging, visual identity, and a digital marketing brochure.