BusinessWeek Online Architectural Record Awards: IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK HERE

Gap Inc.'s new headquarters building is an employee's dream. In order to attract top people in San Francisco, one of the most competitive job marketplaces in the world, the giant retailer asked its architects to create a special space. The design team of William McDonough + Partners and Gensler created a 195,000-square-foot building broken into three large sections, each with its own skylit atrium. No workstation is more than 30 feet from daylight. There is a cafeteria and a full-service fitness center, featuring a lap pool. The windows can be opened, and grass covers the roof to provide a thermal buffer. To maximize office flexibility (Gap has nine fashion lines a year, and mobility is extremely critical), there is an under-the-floor system of ducts and wires for air, phones, computers, and electricity. Materials that the architects used include wood veneer harvested from managed forests, low-toxicity paints and adhesives, and formaldehyde-free particle board. A West Coast design solution for a West Coast business problem.

SPECIAL REPORT: PRIDE OF PLACE

IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK HERE

DOUBLE DUTCH TREATMENT

A CONCRETE SOLUTION

THE TIMES BUILDING: IT'S FIT FOR PRINT

TEMPLE OF COMMERCE

BEAUTY AND THE BASICS

A RECRUITMENT STORE THAT PULLS THEM IN

THE LITTLE PLANT ON THE PRAIRIE

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