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"With XM, the district has proved it can compete against the suburbs and win," says Guy Martin, principal at the Washington office of Studios Architecture. "And from XM's perspective, they see themselves transforming Washington." XM Radio CEO Hugh Panero has even been quoted as saying that XM will do for Washington what Motown Records did for Detroit.

Design for a 21st Century Venture

When XM Satellite Radio goes live nationwide late in 2001 — the service began operating in Dallas and San Diego in September — most of its 100 stations will feature original programming.

This is where the new headquarters comes in. In addition to providing office space for XM's rapidly expanding workforce, which has grown to 400 from about 30 two years ago, the building will house over 80 separate radio studios. "XM was very much in evolution throughout this entire process," recalls Martin. "Having a rigidly fixed program was simply not practical."

The key to designing and building XM, therefore, was flexibility. But with a nationwide corporation starting from scratch in a new industry, it was also important that the new building be able to do more than simply house studios and offices. "They needed a sense of excitement through design to attract a talented workforce," says architect Martin. The firm was told: "Keep it funky."

The clients got their wish, for this is a building with much more energy than a conventional industrial warehouse remodel. Each space at XM Satellite Radio is an eclectic fusion of old and new, stately and chic.

Leopard-printed glass encloses a wall of plasma-screen monitors. Studios sport wood curtain walls in dots and lattice just below a maze of metal HVAC ducts. Fiber optic cables run discreetly down a century-old brick wall.

And yet XM's more stately outer shell provides a classic facade. Occupying a turn-of-the-last-century printing plant, the building brings to mind other high-tech companies taking up residence in the warehouses and factories of America's industrial past.

Not only does the old plant infuse XM with a reassuring architectural pedigree, but the vast open spaces of such buildings allow for the social synergy necessary in an information-based company. It's easier to brainstorm when your colleagues aren't behind closed doors.

Although many warehouses host high-tech ventures, few could accommodate the size and scope of XM. This $1.5 billion business has broadcast facilities of over 150,000 square feet (14,000 square meters), 30 times the size of a normal radio station.

High-Strength High-Tech

Not only is XM's new-old headquarters spacious, it's also extremely sturdy. That came in handy when Studios Architecture was charged with placing 76 studio booths on its second floor. "Imagine these booths as industrial refrigerators," says Martin. "They are custom-designed boxes constructed of factory prefabricated steel panels."

The boxes range in weight from 3.5 to 18 tons (3.1 to 16.3 tonnes), with a larger performance studio weighing in at close to 40 tons (36.3 tonnes). "The building's structure was able to carry these loads," Martin continues, "but arranging all these 76 studios into a coherent architectural floor plan was an incredibly difficult exercise."

Another challenge was to build a simple internal staircase connecting the office and broadcast floors. The massive concrete floor holding the broadcast studios was simply too thick to cut through.

Instead, says Martin, "We found a way to literally hang a monumental stair on the building exterior, modifying existing window openings in order to accomplish this passage. This moment," he continues, "where one momentarily 'leaves the building' was a way we could also put XM's two huge 30-foot (9-meter) satellite uplink dishes on display."

Construction challenges aside, having so many disc jockeys, news reporters, and other radio personnel together on one floor has already fostered collaboration and community. "It's a unifying structure that brings together disparate arts and cultures," says Robbins. "Deejays are used to toiling alone, but here we have a reggae guy sitting next to a classical guy sitting next to a heavy metal guy, and on and on. It's a great environment."

And you can't talk about XM Radio's headquarters without noting the already-legendary broadcast operations center, a custom-etched glass enclosure with countless plasma readout monitors and a command chair that looks like the television set for Star Trek. Robbins says: "It makes XM both a showplace and a workplace. We always say that we've got to get people in here, because once they see it, they understand."

Virtually everything about XM Radio and its headquarters may have existed in some form before — urban renewal, radio stations, industrial remodel for a high-tech startup — but virtually none of it has happened on this scale before.

The headquarters for XM doesn't reinvent the architectural wheel, but it's a reminder of both where we've been and where we're going.

Brian Libby is a Portland-based freelance writer who has also published in Metropolis and Architectural Record.

A typical all-digital broadcast production studio in the XM Satellite Radio headquarters designed by Studios Architecture. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography The broadcast operations center command chair with its custom-etched glass enclosure. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography The entire second floor of XM Radio is dedicated to broadcast studios and a newsroom, all anchored by the operations centers. Image: Studios Architecture One of the open office areas that demonstrates the contrast between the existing building shell and the new exposed mechanical, electrical, and data infrastructure. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography A ramp penetrates the translucent polycarbonate panels that enclose the cafe and reduce the noise transmitted between the community and the surrounding workspace. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography The cafe, open around the clock, has built-in seating around the perimeter and tables in the middle that can be moved for dining, informal meetings, or social events. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography The prefabricated broadcast studios feature magnetically attached fabric wrapped panels and a self-supporting wood panel system that is isolated from the booths to maintain acoustical integrity. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography Assembly studios to the right. To the left, the technical operations center's 22 terabytes of content storage behind a metal and glass wall. Photo: Copyright Michael Moran Photography   Click on thumbnail images to view full-size pictures.