Monday, October 28, 2013

CSIS Fêtes In Celebration of New Building

The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has been getting some good use out of its new, $100 million building located at 1616 Rhode Island Avenue in Northwest Washington, DC.

It has had a series of parties and events, including one held October 21, 2013 that was documented by the Washingtonian.

Here is a description of that party:
The members celebrated on Monday night with a reception, a seated dinner, and a few speeches, followed by the pièce de résistance: a rollicking country music performance by Face the Nation host Bob Schieffer and his band, Honky Tonk Confidential. Would it shock if I reported that during the performance, rather than looping arms and dancing do-si-do, the guests—among them Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski, and former Texas senator Kay Bailey Hutchison—sat in rows of chairs as if at a seminar? (We did see some tapping toes.)
Besides those named above, the crowd included George H.W. Bush’s national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, former defense secretary Bill Cohen, CSIS board chairman Sam Nunn, Lynda Bird Robb and Chuck Robb, former housing and urban development secretary Carla Hills, EADS North America chairman and CEO Sean O’Keefe, and dozens of others, who gathered first in the glass-and-marble foyer for cocktails. Dinner followed on three floors of the building, with tables named after monuments and popular tourist attractions, such as the Lincoln Memorial and the Reflecting Pool.
 The Washingtonian also listed some facts about the new CSIS building:
  • Architect: Hickock Cole Architects
  • Builder: HITT Contracting
  • Construction hours: 500,000
  • Number of employees: 300
  • Square footage: 128,000
  • Floors: 9, including 3 for conferences and 6 for offices, plus 3 parking levels
  • Amount of Carrera marble used: 10,000 square feet
  • LEED Status: Platinum

Here is a picture from one of the recent parties.  Here is a view from the 9th floor of CSIS (video).

Think Tank Watch has visited the building numerous times and cannot think of any swankier think tank digs.  Here is a press release about the new building.

Defense News has also written about CSIS's new home, saying that the lobby is "impressive" and has that "new-think tank smell."  It called the new headquarters "Hamre Hall," referring to CSIS President, CEO, and Pritzker Chair John Hamre.

CSIS was recently ranked as the best think tank in the world for security and international affairs by the University of Pennsylvania annual think tank rankings.  It was also ranked as the 5th best think tank in the world.