Five Guys Chooses Rockfon Ceiling Solutions for New Headquarters

Returning to the same city where the Murrell brothers opened their original restaurant, Five Guys Enterprises’ new international headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, is located on the fifth floor of Carlyle Crescent’s 220,000-square-foot Class A office building.

Designed by OTJ Architects, the interior space reflects Five Guys’ red, gray, black and white brand identity standards. In its group collaboration and training room, Rockfon® Cubegrid® Open Plenum 15/16-inch metal ceilings were finished in a chili red. Rockfon® Color-all™ Charcoal and bright white Rockfon Sonar® acoustic stone wool ceiling panels were selected for the enclosed meeting rooms and offices.

Working closely with the general contractor, HITT, the ceiling specialists at Anning-Johnson Company installed both the Rockfon Cubegrid Open Plenum metal ceiling systems and 17,500 square feet of Rockfon’s acoustic ceiling tiles in Chicago Metallic® 4000 Tempra™ 9/16-inch ceiling suspension system. HITT completed the 22-week, 37,000-square-foot tenant fit-out in May 2023.¹

In addition to employees’ acoustic comfort, Rockfon stone wool ceiling panels contribute to their well-being. Rockfon Sonar and Color-all products are UL® GREENGUARD® Gold certified for office and educational environments. Products with this certification are recognized as supporting indoor air quality. 

For builders and designers, Rockfon stone wool tiles can also:

• Inspire and enhance the interior design scheme with 34 exclusive colors for acoustic ceiling and wall solutions
• Create a smooth surface
• Afford excellent sound absorption (NRC = 0.85–0.95)
• Achieve a Class A fire performance
• Provide design freedom due to the variety of edges (lay-in, tegular and concealed) and colors

Five Guys has been a Washington, D.C., area favorite since 1986, when Jerry and Janie Murrell offered sage advice to their four sons: “Start a business or go to college.” The business route won, and the Murrell family opened a carry-out burger joint in Arlington, Virginia. A fifth brother was born and, as the family grew, so did their business. Four more restaurants with sit-down seating were added to accommodate the growing clientele.²

Promoting the company’s on-brand message, Five Guys’ corporate training area showcases a colorful chili finish on Rockfon Cubegrid Open Plenum ceiling systems.

The ceiling’s metal grid design incorporates lighting and other acoustic baffle elements without fully concealing the mechanical equipment above. In the adjacent kitchen and meeting room, the HVAC equipment is painted red, and the plenum is fully exposed.

Meanwhile, in the enclosed offices and meeting rooms, Rockfon Color-all in Charcoal and white stone wool ceiling panels were selected in three sizes: 2-by-2, 2-by-4 and 4-by-4 feet.

All of the Rockfon acoustic ceiling tiles installed in Five Guys’ headquarters have a square tegular narrow edge that minimizes the ceiling suspension system’s visible grid lines while adding depth and texture to the ceiling plane. Within the enclosed areas, employees concentrate on productive focused taskwork and have private conversations.

Optimizing acoustics in these spaces, Rockfon Sonar and Rockfon Color-all stone wool ceiling panels deliver the best level of sound absorption with a very high noise reduction coefficient of up to 0.95.

To assist design professionals with their product and material selections, Rockfon offers Environmental Product Declarations, Health Product Declarations and other documentation. Important for workers’ health and attractive interiors, Rockfon’s stone wool and metal ceiling systems do not support the growth of mold, mildew or microorganisms. They are also easy to clean.

Rockfon ceiling panels are designed to seamlessly blend into any space. With a variety of styles and colors, they cater to an array of design preferences. Curious about how Rockfon can meet your needs? Contact us to find the perfect panel for your project, and sign up for our newsletter for more project inspiration.

^Sources

^{¹ Michael Neibauer, “Five Guys Moving Corporate Headquarters Inside the Beltway After a Decade in Lorton,” Washington Business Journal,
November 22, 2022.}

^{² “The Five Guys Story,” Five Guys, accessed April 4, 2024.}