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Eleventh floor. Plenty of windows and nice light. Spacious offices with doors for privacy. Most Washington attorneys grovel for years to get digs like those at Web software developer IntraActive Inc., on Vermont Avenue, N.W. three blocks from the White House. But to code crunchers barely out of their teens, the notion of spending one's waking hours in the confines of an office can evoke Dilbertian nightmares.

Instead, the half dozen programmers at IntraActive left the offices empty and opted for a more dorm-like environment: They knocked down some walls and now glom together in a windowless room across the hall, complete with well-stocked refrigerator and more than 1,000 CDs feeding the stereo. Average age: 23.

"We don't have to have meetings anymore," said chief technology officer Justin Fidler. "Someone will ask somebody a question, and people turn around in their chairs if they want to join the conversation." InterActive chief executive Larry Schlang insists the move was done at the code-crunchers' request and not to save money on rent (he now leases the empty offices to a small law firm).

A recruiting brochure promotes the lack of cubicles, dress codes and scheduled work hours. The company's motto, after all, is "Have fun at work." One hitch: Drones can't crank up the music until the tenant attorneys leave for the night-and in Washington, that's usually later than the programmers would like.

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