Batman and Star Wars Provide Inspiration for Offices of Holland & Knight’s Lobbying Group
Holland & Knight’s 55-member lobbying and public policy group in Washington, D.C., is now housed in new office space with a high-tech and egalitarian feel.
Associates and partners all have offices of the same size with walls of floor-to-ceiling glass, the Washington Post reports. Secretaries are located in curved clusters at the center of the office. Communal areas encourage interaction.
According to the story, the new offices “blend the look, function and feel of Silicon Valley start-ups with hotel and airport lounges.” Parts of the design also borrow from films. The conference room has whiteboard walls and is dubbed the “Bat Cave.” A cantina with Wii and foosball is modeled after the bar in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
The firm’s lead lobbyist, Rich Gold, tells the Post that the new modern look is symbolic of the firm’s forward-working approach to public policy work. The firm is nixing hourly billing in favor of fixed fees and emphasizing teamwork. “We have 10 times more contact in a more open space than a traditional space,” Gold told the Post. “It’s that collision of atoms that produces creativity.”
