The American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) board of directors and staff hosted an open house on Thursday evening to show off their transitional workspace at WeWork Chinatown to members of the D.C. design community. ASID has been working from WeWork for three months now, and they expect to be there for the next year, until their new HQ is ready. The transitional office is spread across the fourth floor of the Chinatown coworking space.
Randy Fiser, ASID’s executive vice president and chief executive officer, told the crowd that the interim office solution means that his staff gets to experience the future of the workplace first-hand.
“What better concept than to be our own guinea pigs and test these new ways of working,” said Fiser. “It’s been a phenomenal experience for us.”
Matthew DeGeeter, ASID’s director of engagement, said that he and his co-workers are working together in better ways because of the new space.
“There was a lot of underutilized space in our old office,” he said. At WeWork, they now sit according to project teams which — along with a host of other efficiencies promoted by a smaller space — has allowed for much more communication across the business.
“It’s much more nimble,” said DeGeeter.
Fiser said that they will start programming for the new HQ in a few weeks, and that they’ll take into consideration everything they learn about new ways of working at WeWork as they plan the new space.
