Prior to creating Building Knowledge, Andrea Mones established and served as Historic Preservation and Fine Arts Officer for the Public Buildings Service, U.S. General Services Administration, in Washington, D.C. As the Project Executive and owner’s representative for the first adaptive reuse project undertaken by the GSA, Ms. Mones managed all aspects of this precedent setting project.

This 1899 granite building’s 200,000 s.f. footprint deceptively hides one of the grandest interior spaces in Washington, D.C. The central atrium rises nine floors and is capped by a clock tower, reaching to a 13th level, complete with the best accessible viewing space in the city. Ms. Mones created the first design competition to renovate a federal building, completed in 1981. Original woodwork was repaired and where missing, ornament was replicated. Marble was cleaned and polished. Windows were rehabilitated on site. The entire exterior was cleaned and pointed. The Postmaster General’s suite was restored for the President’s Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Furthermore, part of the building program carved out more than 50,000 s.f. of usable space in the lower levels.

Ms. Mones chaired the selection panel and negotiation team to engage Charles Evans and Associates in a 60-year lease to build-out the space, completed in 1983. The adaptive reuse of the building acted as a catalyst for the redevelopment of Pennsylvania Avenue between the Capitol and the White House. The two projects won over 10 awards for their outstanding design and the vitality generated in the nation's capital.