At David Allen Company, craftsmanship isn’t just what we do… it’s who we are.
Step inside our Raleigh headquarters, and you’ll find more than a workplace. You’ll enter a living archive of design, material, and memory—a space built not to impress, but to endure. Every mosaic, beam, and baseboard tells the story of a company rooted in excellence for over 100 years.
It all started with a vision and a deep respect for craft.
A Journey Begins in Italy
To bring this vision to life, Roberson took his architect to Italy for two weeks—not to vacation, but to study. He wanted them to absorb the architecture, feel the stone, and return with a clear understanding of what timeless design looks and feels like.
“We wanted to capture the historical perspective of where our materials come from,” Roberson shares. “And we used a lot of our own materials—and that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”
From Spain to Portugal, India to China, Roberson personally sourced stone from quarries around the world. Those materials were then shaped, cut, and assembled to DAC’s exacting standards—many of them right here in-house.
When a Headquarters Becomes a Gallery
The result is a building that’s as much a gallery as it is a workplace. Walk the halls, and you’ll find world-class artistry woven into the architecture:
- The Venetian Medallion in the entry rotunda, inspired by a pattern in a Venetian museum and hand-fabricated with Spanish stone.
- The Alexander Mosaic, depicting Alexander the Great’s battle at Issus—painted to scale by Vicky Wilson, then crafted by a third-generation Italian mosaicist.
- The Saint Mark Mosaic, a granite inlay symbolizing Venice’s dominion over land, sea, and air.
- The Waterjet-Cut Table, built from 1,500 pieces of marble and laminated stained glass, laser cut to fit like a puzzle.
- The Nine Muses Ceiling, painted directly on the ceiling by Lynne Rutter, featuring real DAC staff as mythological figures.
These are not decorative flourishes. They are reflections of DAC’s design ethos: to honor tradition, master technique, and always reach for more.
“We wanted the office itself to be a model of our standards,” says Roberson. “A space where clients and employees alike could see what’s possible when craftsmanship meets vision.”
A Legacy Set in Stone
The attention to detail didn’t stop with the art. Look down, and you’ll see terrazzo floors like the national award-winning design in CEO, David Roberson’s, office—patterned after a Venetian waterfront. Look closer, and you’ll spot marble baseboards throughout the entire building, sourced from Alicante and India.
Even the first waterjet-cut bathroom floor was redone four times to align perfectly with the drain. Because at DAC, good enough is never good enough.
There’s also preserved history here:
- Vintage tools used to haul 100 lb. marble bags from Italy
- Photos of DAC’s previous HQ near 42nd Street in Raleigh
- Cast stone spandrels from a 1912 bank, auctioned and saved for installation
“This building tells the story of what we’ve done—what we’ve built over generations,” Roberson reflects. “I worked with David Allen from 1957 to 1977. He was known as the mason who could work in a white shirt and wear it to church on Sunday.”
Built by People, Not Just Plans
This building wasn’t created by subcontractors and CAD files alone. It came to life through collaboration—with artists, architects, masons, and mosaicists working side by side. Vicky Wilson, a David Allen staff artist, brought significant and meaningful artistic skills to most of the creations in the building.
“Vicky helped create so many of the pieces you see in front of you. We worked together as a team and her artistic genius brought my visions to reality.” Roberson recalls. “She once spent nine days hand-chipping and refining a mosaic to ensure it was perfect”
Today, DAC HQ is a place where the past meets the present. It inspires new hires, honors long-standing employees, and welcomes clients into the very heart of what we stand for.
📍 Stop By or Follow Along
When in Raleigh, we invite you to visit. You’ll see the care in every detail, the legacy in every line, and the future of craftsmanship unfolding around you.
Until then, follow us here on LinkedIn for stories, inspiration, and a closer look at what happens when tradition meets precision—and passion becomes reality.