Can We Breathe New Life into Government Buildings?

Gensler Design Exchange Podcast
2 min readDec 8, 2022

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Nearly 30% of Washington, D.C.’s total land area is owned by the Federal Government. In times of economic turmoil, this enormous, city-wide footprint of long-term leases has helped D.C. remain resilient in terms of holding rent and vacancy rates steady.

Could the National Mall become a thriving Live, Work, Play neighborhood?

But like nearly every other sector, the COVID-19 pandemic distorted this time-tested relationship — perhaps forever.

A continually high rate of federal employees working from home, deteriorating interior conditions of several government workplace buildings, and an industry wide goal to reach net zero carbon has created a perfect storm for opportunity.

Gensler’s design for this Government Tenant in Maryland is quite the departure from windowless government offices, and emphasizes collaboration, flexibility, and efficiency

Guest host Diana Apalategui and guest Lucy Kitchin explore ideas for private sector intervention in federally owned assets in the District, including a revitalized, mixed-use National Mall, amenity-rich government office buildings, and more.

Tune in to hear the full conversation. As always, thanks for listening!

Host:
Brandon Larcom
Product Development Leader, Senior Associate
Gensler

Guest Host:
Diana Apalategui
Strategist, Senior Associate
Gensler

Guest:
Lucy Kitchin
Managing Director
Transwestern

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Gensler Design Exchange Podcast

The Gensler Design Exchange creates a dialogue between design experts, creative trendsetters & thought leaders to discuss how we can shape the future of cities.