Client
Gannett Co., Inc. and USA Today

Facility
Corporate Headquarters

Size
753,473.8ft^² / 70,000m² 
+ parking

Status
Completed 2001 

Associate Architect
Lehman/Smith/Wiseman & Associates

Awards
Business Week Architectural Record Award 2003

Communication Excellence Award - Building Magazine
2002

New York City AIA Design Awards 2002
Architecture Award

Best Overall, Best New Office Development/Suburban Best Interior Design - Washington Business Journal 2002

Building Magazine Construction Award 2002

Washington Business Journal "Real Estate Deals of 2001” Awards - Best Overall

This new headquarters is located on a 30-acre site outside of Washington, DC. Two entities, the structures for USA Today and Gannett sit on a corporate base and spiral up to enclose an exterior "town square".

There are three major programmatic elements: the common (shared) facilities, the newsroom and production areas and the typical office areas.  Common spaces are distributed along the entry level.  Newsroom and production are in high-ceiling areas on podium levels two and three. Typical office spaces are above in linear towers; designed for maximum flexibility, the narrow tower footprint allows maximum natural light to all offices.

The design orients the complex and its community space towards the pond at the center of the site. The southern orientation maximizes sunlight into the exterior courtyard and adjacent terraces.