When the National Science Foundation (NSF) needed to consolidate multiple office spaces and 2,400 employees around the D.C. region into their brand-new Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters, they needed a company that could wear many hats. Akima subsidiary Talu stepped in to make the transition a smooth one.
Featured Contract: National Science Foundation Headquarters, Alexandria, Virginia
Mission
When the NSF needed to consolidate multiple office spaces and 2,400 employees around the D.C. region into their brand-new Alexandria, Virginia, headquarters, they needed a company that could wear many hats. Akima subsidiary Talu stepped in to make the transition a smooth one. “This was our largest project back when it was awarded,” notes Scott. The five-year, $69 million IDIQ contract started off with the company serving as an advocate for the NSF during the construction process.
Talu was also responsible for decommissioning the old buildings and outfitting the new headquarters: furniture, the audio/ visual system, security, distributed antennae system (ensuring building-wide WIFI), records digitization, interior signage, wayfinding, branding, and security components (such as card readers, turnstiles, scanning machines, and security cameras).
“Basically, everything that was in that building, we outfitted for them,” says Scott.
Strategy
Akima’s team analyzed the NSF’s existing furniture and systems, including artwork, chairs, workstations, and more, rating each item good/better/best. “There’s no sense in spending $4 or $5 million dollars on an item if they currently own something that we could use for them in the new office space,” explains Scott, whose team helped NSF employees seamlessly make the move. Essentially, workers were able to leave their desks on Friday and arrive at their new site on Monday, with their workstation ready to go and a welcome packet waiting. Says Scott, “Change is disruptive for folks, so we tried to make that transition easier.”
Expertise
“Our construction manager is a licensed architect, so it was very valuable to be able to provide that service,” says Scott, whose team also included designers certified in space planning and furniture knowledge, as well as a budget analyst to identify the best value for every expense. “We became an extension of their staff to help them see the big picture, to analyze the data, and help them make good decisions from a price perspective.”
Solution
Because Akima offers a ‘turnkey solution’ — meaning a customer can settle in right away — our FF&E skillset can handle many different procurements that otherwise would have to be individually contracted out. “We will raise our hand for anything,” Scott says. For example, the distributed antennae system “isn’t something we had done in the past, but we knew we could get the best vendors and manage that process,” he continues. “It broadened our menu of services and we were able to execute it, so now we have a story that we didn’t have before.”
Result
The NSF is a federal agency with a $8.3 billion budget that supports scientific research in the non-medical fields of science and engineering around the globe through grants and awards. In the new headquarters, foundation employees can accomplish this scientific advancement work more efficiently and safely in their bright, modernized, well-organized office interior that made the most of taxpayer dollars.
As Akima’s largest FF&E contract to date, the National Science Foundation (NSF) headquarters project became a springboard for winning even more largescale work, including a subsequent $20M award to outfit the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) headquarters, won quickly on the heels of the NSF project’s success. “NSF was a great model for us — since then we’ve done about six other headquarters programs,” says Scott Mackie, general manager at Talu.
Across the U.S. and around the world, Akima’s FF&E projects are helping agencies and companies thrive and stay productive by providing seamless support during organization-wide moves and designing top-quality, modern interior spaces.
About Akima
Whether a customer needs a 3,000-person office move or a fully equipped interior for a new building, Akima has the experience and expertise to tackle the job. With decades of experience, Akima’s professional teams — which include project managers, designers, architects, LEED-accredited staff, and more — have made a name for Akima in Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FF&E) contracting.
In addition to handling all logistics for an organization’s move to a new building, this capability encompasses decommissioning old spaces and designing new interiors for aesthetics and function: including artwork, lighting, flooring, signage, security, audio/visual, phones, furniture, and more.
