Nuclear Regulatory Commission

General Services Administration

Rockville, Maryland

Proactively addressing future workplace needs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) developed a long term housing strategy focused on additional space needs and growing staff requirements. NRC identified the need to attract the most skilled individuals in anticipation of replacing the aging workforce and a need to give employees at this satellite location a sense of connection to the main complex.

This space is a prototype for the upcoming new Phase III headquarters building as well as renovations in the current facilities. The organizational design concepts and work space standards developed now will carry forward into future buildings as standards for the entire NRC. The NRC engaged strategic planners, organizational experts and designers from our Washington DC and Chicago offices in a workplace study to develop the prototype.

This prototype entices a new generation by creating an environment that is energetic, supports multiple work styles and boasts amenities to support a diverse workforce. It also succeeds in providing opportunities for employees in this satellite location to interface with employees in different locations. Technical connectivity to the main campus and the integration of powerful computing technology into a central data center were other critical drivers.

Based on the results of the workplace consulting exercise, we conceptualized a space that enhances the image of NRC as an energetic and exciting place to work. The design supported employee's work styles by providing spaces that accommodate both private and collaborative production. The first challenge in designing the space was to create an organizational system that maintained a minimum number of work space standards in a highly irregular building. One concept that emerged from the workplace study was extracting offices and work stations from exterior walls and moving enclosed work spaces closer into the core of the building. This approach maximized space and made greater use of natural light. Work stations were designed to promote heads-down work styles with visual privacy and orientation away from the busier public zones. Collaborative and support spaces were co-located in the center of the floor plate to reduce their impact on the work environment and make them accessible to everyone.

Another pivotal feature of the space was the development of media and display zones that help organize the space and provide the occupants an opportunity to share the story of their work with others. A series of conference rooms and less formal huddle spaces was designed with video teleconference capabilities to help with connectivity to the main NRC buildings. Additional amenity spaces include a caf