RAND Corporation Completes Move to Innovative Headquarters Building

The RAND Corporation, one of the world’s leading research institutions for more than 50 years, has relocated about 1,000 staff members to its new headquarters building in Santa Monica, California, signaling an important new step in the nonprofit organization’s evolution.

Designed by Los Angeles-based DMJM Design and built by Turner Construction Co., the new headquarters adjacent to RAND’s longtime home was constructed to reflect the institution’s values of researcher collaboration, conservation of client and natural resources, and an ability to adapt to future changes. It cost approximately $100 million to build.

“Our new headquarters design will stimulate and inspire creativity and collaboration among our researchers, who produce some of the most innovative and forward looking research and analysis in the world for our public and private-sector clients,” said RAND President and CEO James A. Thomson. “The headquarters also signals our continuing commitment to Southern California as our home, even as we extend RAND’s reach into more regions around the United States and the world.”

“RAND’s input was critical to the success of this project,” said DMJM’s principal architect Paul Danna. “The institution’s participatory culture enabled us to get significant feedback on what was important to them from a research perspective. We believe the end result is truly a visual representation of RAND.”

RAND has been headquartered in Santa Monica since it was founded in 1948. It also has domestic research offices in the Washington D.C. area, in Pittsburgh, and in New York City. RAND Europe offices are located in: Leiden, The Netherlands; Berlin, Germany; and Cambridge, United Kingdom. The RAND-Qatar Policy Institute is located in Doha, Qatar.

Next spring, RAND will host a variety of events for local, state, and national leaders—as well as the local community—to celebrate the completion of the new headquarters and highlight RAND’s continuing contribution to the local community, the nation, and the world.