M12 Mission Profile
M12 DESIGN DC founded in 2012 in Washington, DC, is a collaborative architectural design consultancy committed to the belief that architecture has the power to transform the quality of our daily experience, to engage the imagination, and to uplift and broaden the reach of the human spirit. Accordingly, M12 was created with the following concepts in mind:
Performance: Wise use of resources is a global imperative that should not be seen in isolation as a seperate discipline, but as a necessary part of making our way in the world in the present, with the future very much in mind.
Technology: Technology, as a record of our cultural aspirations, has both a practical and a spiritual role to play in the unfolding of the design process: Utilizing the best tools of our time to perform at the highest levels must resonate with a joy in what technology makes possible: a joy that is informed by the human spirit.
Craft: Architecture is informed by the truth that craft and detail are the messengers of great concepts and that what is accessible at the smallest of scales should tell us much about core concepts at the greatest of scales.
Identity: M12 is engaged in the design of buildings and environments that project a strong identity into the world- an identity that seeks to capture the essence of mission and aspiration in harmony with context and time.
Engagement: A working awareness of natural rhythms, forces and environmental conditions must play a central role in shaping design: it is from this awareness that sustainable practices are defined that become essential to enduring design solutions.
Opportunity: The design process should be a truly engaging, enlightening and uplifting journey that leads us to a new destination together. The time we take to develop the right feeling for a design dialogue is time well invested: everything flows from this contract of trust.
The Name: The "M" in M12 refers to Mach number, or the speed of sound at sea level: approximately 760 mph. Mach 12, or 12 times the speed of sound, could be considered the highest sustainable test velocity in the wind tunnel test facilities at NASA Langley in Hampton Virginia, where James Tilghman AIA led the AECOM Design team as a GSA Design Excellence Lead Designer for the Headquarters building and the IESB Campus Conference Center. Mach 12, depending on altitude, is approximately 9,800 mph, classified as hypersonic velocity.