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2000 M Street Speculative Suites

Architect

Alex Hurtado, Collective Architecture

Location

2000 M Street, Washington, DC

Client

WashREIT, now owned by Brookfield Properties

Date of completion

23 June 2020

Background

Offices at 2000 M Street are now a Brookfield Properties building, featuring an onsite conference center, fitness center and a ground-level pharmacy. In addition to flexible, short-term leases through partnership with SPACE+, the eight-story building in Washington, DC’s golden triangle, a neighborhood with restaurants and retail shops, offers full and partial floors as well as furnished speculative suites. Speculative suites are typically suites within a multi-tenant building in which the landlord preemptively invests in making the space move-in ready (or near move-in ready) without necessarily having a business contracted to occupy the space.

Collective Architecture used lighting and architectural details, such as wood finishes and an artificial green wall, to give the illusion of a natural environment.

Who is the lighting designer?

Collective Architecture’s project manager was Natalia Cuzmuc; she specified Alcon Lighting’s products.

White cylinder pendant lights line a hallway outside glass-fronted work areas at the 2000 M Street Speculative Suites.

What was the lighting design goal for this project?

To add natural light throughout the space’s interior core. Accordingly, architect Hurtado designed individual offices, workstation suites and interior conference rooms with as much glass partitioning as possible. “The primary goal was to create a brighter environment in which specified lighting would not only increase overall output,” Alexandra Weil, Collective Architecture‘s studio coordinator says, “but also reflect materials used in the space, including glass, exposed ceilings and diffused flooring.”

White cylinder pendant lights hang from an exposed ceiling down a corridor between offices and a conference room.

What was the lighting challenge?

The lack of natural light throughout the original space. Collective Architecture chose to fabricate an environment, giving the illusion of natural light. Working to balance lighting with existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning, the designer sought to maximize efficiency through the choice of lighting during the design phase.

Linear recessed lights fitted in a grid ceiling light a communal workspace and social area.

“The primary goal was to create a brighter environment in which specified lighting would not only increase overall output,” Alexandra Weil, Collective Architecture‘s studio coordinator says, “but also reflect materials used in the space, including glass, exposed ceilings and diffused flooring.”

Which Alcon Lighting products did you use and how did they help you achieve the desired outcome?

Collective Architecture specified Alcon Lighting’s 12302 lighting with a white finish for the product’s sleek design, competitive pricing and subtle features amplifying elegant lighting. All the lighting used at Speculative Suites flooded the space with luminous intensity, accomplishing the goal to increase light capacity while enhancing esthetic appeal.

Alcon Lighting's cylinder pendant lights achieved the designer's goal of balancing lighting with existing heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems.

What was the overall goal of the space? How did you go about achieving the client's vision?

“In any speculative suite, the goal is to create transcendent design for multiple settings of varying businesses,” Weil says.. “Regardless of the end user, designing timeless spaces with the elegance and sophistication to attract talent to the office and promote better business practices was paramount.” By creating a multifaceted environment serving multiple purposes, architect Hurtado accomplished the task of accommodating the user whose needs evolve. Collective Architecture seeks to “promote business through balance, innovation and collaboration,” Weil explains. The speculative suites at 2000 M Street NW meets this criteria.

4.5-Inch Architectural LED Cylinder Pendant Light

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View Details

All lighting used at Speculative Suites flooded the space with luminous intensity, increasing light capacity while enhancing aesthetic appeal.

Good lighting design accounts for the nature and needs of those inhabiting any space. As a concept, human-centric lighting addresses the physiological impact of artificial lighting on the individual. One human-centric lighting design goal is to integrate lighting technology and design principles for better harmony with the natural daily cycle of daylight and darkness. The result? Reduced stress, a lighter mood and better performance.

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