Morgan Lewis' New Washington Law Office Sets Two Records

Contacts:

Andrea C. Fitch, HITT Contracting Inc.
(703) 846-9095 / afitch@hitt-gc.com
  Eleanor Kerlow, Morgan Lewis
(202) 739-5799 / ekerlow@morganlewis.com
  Tia Hutton, STUDIOS Architecture
(202) 736-5947 / hutton@studiosarch.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, January 31, 2002:

Fairfax, Virginia - HITT Contracting Inc., one of Washington, D.C. area's leading providers of law firm construction services, has recently completed the 335,000 s.f. build-out for Morgan Lewis' Washington D.C. office consolidation at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue. Together with STUDIOS Architecture, HITT worked to deliver the city's largest law office relocation for 2002.

"This is, by far, one of our most rewarding design projects," said STUDIOS Principal Todd DeGarmo. "The finished space is a result of years of planning and forward thinking, and is a validation of the design trend we've been seeing in law offices across the country."

"We have had a Washington office since 1947, and it is now one of the largest offices in the city," says Michael S. Kelly, Morgan Lewis' Washington office managing partner. "With this move, our new Pennsylvania Avenue location puts us front and center in the legal, business and political community of the nation's Capitol."

"Every essential element of our new building is tailored to meet our clients' needs," says Stephen Paul Mahinka, Morgan Lewis' partner who oversaw the five-year design and building process. "In the new space, clients can conduct negotiations, hold caucuses and seminars, and prepare for actual litigation or Congressional and agency appearances in ways that they never could before."

This state-of-the-art office features a two-story multipurpose room, moot court, 30,000 s.f. conference center, fitness center, reception lobby with monumental stair, central computer room, consolidated law library with reinforced flooring, and a full-service restaurant and kitchen facility with a rooftop terrace overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue and Federal Triangle.

Of particular note is the unique incorporation of natural light into the core of the facility affording all internal offices a more "perimeter" atmosphere. By opening up the building's central core through all slabs, HITT coordinated the installation of the world's longest solar-powered light pipe (120 feet), which serves as a design focal point for the multi-level office layout. Fabricated in Germany, this light pipe utilizes molded Depp glass with aircraft-quality aluminum fittings; the natural light source is reflected by a five-foot diameter heliostat on the building roof. During operation, the light pipe will generate up to 6,000 watts of filtered light throughout all 14 floors.

Andrew Doyle, Vice President of HITT Law, commented, "This project afforded us the opportunity to fully realize what it means to integrate a law firm's functions and program with unique design solutions and efficiency. More so, the coordination of the solar light pipe rewarded us with a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We deeply appreciate being part of this hallmark project."

 

About HITT Contracting Inc.
HITT Contracting was founded in 1937 and has grown to be ranked today among the 100 Largest General Contractors in the United States, with offices in Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Charleston, and Baltimore. HITT Contracting provides award-winning turnkey construction services from changing a doorknob to complete delivery of headquarter facilities/campuses. The company has more than 600 employees, including a 325-member, skilled in-house field force available to fulfill the requirements of their expanding base of repeat and new clients. Their $410 million volume in 2001 comprises today's leading market sectors, including corporate base building and interiors, law firms, technology, biotech, institutional, government, aviation, and healthcare. For more information, please visit www.hitt-gc.com.

About Morgan Lewis
Morgan Lewis, with a team of over 1,100 lawyers in 13 offices worldwide, is a fully integrated, multipractice law firm that serves global clients. For more than a century, Morgan Lewis has represented Fortune 500 companies, multinational financial services and investment banking organizations, as well as leaders in the life sciences, technology, energy, securities and media sectors. More information on Morgan Lewis is available at www.morganlewis.com.