Workplace innovator Allsteel has launched its Design Lab in Washington, D.C. The 5,000-square-foot space operates as a living laboratory, defying traditional showroom models with a human-centric design by Gensler embodying agility and evolutionary potential.
Six foundational workplace behaviors—Focus, Mentorship, Innovation, Collaboration, Socialization, and Learning—are supported across the design with a network of adaptable zones reflective of Allsteel’s broader Intentional Office framework. The concept invites clients and specifiers to engage in a real-time design process that experiments with layouts, tests products, and uses digital planning tools to develop adaptive solutions. The space will undergo regular refreshes to accommodate new products and prototypes as well. “Creating the D.C. Design Lab alongside Allsteel was an opportunity to respond directly to the unique pace and culture of Washington’s design community,” said Gensler principal and design director Emma Chang. “Every space is intentionally crafted to support collaboration, innovation, and digital equity.”
Welcoming visitors is an informal zone for gathering linked to a hospitality-inspired all-day cafe. A sundrenched boardroom occupies one end of the linear space, serving as a high-visibility area for presentations and hybrid collaboration, while a connected pre-function buffer softens the transition between the workplace and formal engagements. Co-solutioning zones are situated at the heart of the design to offer a variety of workstation layouts to support different needs.
The lab is also home to four different private office designs, showcasing configurations supportive of work styles from deep focus to hybrid-friendly drop-in use to in-person conversations. The materials lab serves as a resource for real-time design where clients are welcome to explore finishes, test combinations, and make selections with digital tools. Rounding out the lab, the nearby digital theater flexibly hosts presentations, learning, and large programs styled in a color palette inspired by D.C.’s refined aesthetic. Unifying the layout is a curvaceous ceiling element conceived to guide the eye of visitors organically through the design. “For a showroom, you need a very bold element,” Chang adds. “You have to design a space to cope with all the change that you are not aware of and still being a character—a memorable space.”
