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BusinessWeek: November 2, 1998 |
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Special Report: BW/ARCHITECTURAL RECORD AWARDS
PRIDE OF PLACE The second annual architecture awards celebrate the teams who created the world's best new work environments Architecture, associated in the past with grandiosity and richness, is showing a strong ability to deliver higher productivity and significant cost savings while still surprising with structures and spaces of stunning visual beauty. This is why, for the second year in a row, the BUSINESS WEEK/Architectural Record Awards, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects (AIA), celebrate the problem-solving strengths and bottom-line prowess of architecture. (Both BUSINESS WEEK and Architectural Record are owned by The McGraw-Hill Companies; the October issue of Architectural Record has its own write-up of the awards.) The contest focuses on the successful translation of business goals into architectural solutions and includes businesspeople on the contest jury. Olli Kallasvuo, president of Nokia Inc. and corporate executive vice-president of Nokia Americas, and Michael Basserman, chairman and chief executive of Mercedes-Benz of North America, served this year. The trophies go to teams of clients and architects who together solved business problems that are at the heart of today's economy: restructuring, teaming, innovation. With the global economy facing strong recessionary pressures, the imperative of growth, which was dominant for so many years, is quickly giving way to restraint. Many of the awards this year illustrate how architecture can facilitate that new approach. "Those projects that had budget constraints on them often had the more inventive solutions," says juror Charles Gwathmey, principal of New York-based Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects, a firm known for its high-end, modernist designs. To ensure impartiality, the AIA chooses the judges and establishes the criteria, which include a business plan as well as architectural renderings. In 1998, there were 213 entries, up from 153 last year, with 186 coming from the private sector and 27 from the public. The largest category--89 entries--was for corporate headquarters and offices; followed by manufacturing, research- and-development, and operations (24); entertainment (18); and education (14). There were 74 new construction projects, 71 interiors, and 38 renovations. Some 45 entries had budgets under $1 million and 69 under $5 million. There were many larger-budget projects as well--42 over $25 million, and 57 between $5 million and $25 million. Entries came from Europe, Asia, Latin America, Canada, and Africa, as well as the U.S. What were the big trends in this year's contest? Try what one juror called "minimizing materiality," or the clever use of inexpensive, everyday materials to deliver low-budget but high-impact offices and factories. Glass and grass are a major theme. Award-winners QMR Plastics Div. in Wisconsin, the San Francisco-based Gap Inc. headquarters, and The New York Times's new printing plant all emphasize skylights and windows, for instance. The result: lots of natural daylight, a better working environment for employees, and savings on energy. Grass is where the Green Movement meets the green eyeshade. Both the Regio Twente waste-transfer center in the Netherlands and the QMR Plastics plant in River Falls, Wisc., use native grasses to landscape their buildings, please local communities, and save money. (Indigenous grasses need no irrigation and require little maintenance.) Gap has even put grass on the roof of its headquarters to create a thermal barrier, saving on energy. AUSTERITY. Award-winner Praxair Inc., an Ankeny (Iowa) distributor of bottled industrial gases such as nitrogen and oxygen, actually celebrates its minimal materialism. By taking an old warehouse and exposing and polishing its metal ductwork and pipes, the architects created a workplace true to the industrial heart of the business, as well as a special place to work in. Once it was rare for architects to be called in to design industrial facilities; not anymore. "These buildings make a lot of sense from a business point of view," says Bernardo Fort-Brescia, principal of Arquitectonica International of Miami. "Unlike the postmodern ostentation of the '80s, with its expensive, ornate marble and pretension, these winners have a style that makes sense and does not waste money." The New York Times saved $100 million by using basic materials, a simple, rectangular building, and more efficient space in its new printing plant. Teamwork is the second major theme to emerge from the contest. The new QMR Plastics building houses production, engineering, and management under one roof. Company officials want everyone involved in the manufacture and distribution of plastics to work together. Glass walls separate blue- and white-collar employees while making each visible to the other. Large, open spaces bring people together. The Praxair building, like QMR Plastics', is multiuse: It has a warehouse, offices, and training areas under one roof. Gap's grassed roof covers what some might think of as a workers' paradise--light, airy spaces, windows that open to the fresh air, a gym with a pool, and a cafeteria with good food. But employees do pay a price: speed. Gap changes clothing lines many times annually, and architects built tremendous flexibility into the new headquarters. Teams assemble, break up, and reassemble to get the work out. Awards also went to projects where managers wanted their offices to express core company values. Architecture made their buildings and work spaces tell a story about the business within. At Osho, a publisher of media dedicated to a meditative life, Daniel Rowen Architects created a serene yet dynamic Manhattan office space using light and long, uncluttered walls and hallways. But architecture also can redefine the way a company operates. The award-winning Futures By Temps project remade the business model of the temporary-staffing agency by redefining its applicants as customers rather than job-seeking supplicants. When the company was unable to meet corporate demand for computer-literate temps, its architects built a jazzy kiosk featuring Web-site-design imagery that attracted young, computer-literate people in malls who might be interested in temporary work. One of the strongest architectural trends that showed up in both the 1997 and 1998 contests was the reuse of older buildings. Usually that involves retrofitting old warehouses or factories to make offices. But a Dutch winner this year goes one step further. Oosterhuis Associates designed an enormous waste-treatment shed that can be transformed into something entirely different in 15 years: a sports stadium. This persuaded the local community to accept a garbage landfill in their backyards. Two architects won in both the 1997 and 1998 competitions: Julie Snow and William McDonough. Snow is building a reputation for designing light, open spaces that integrate blue-collar and white-collar work. McDonough is well-known for his environmental approach. This is just one of many trends appearing as the BUSINESS WEEK/Architectural Record contest evolves. A more detailed look at the winners and why they won begins on page 64. BUSINESS WEEK/ARCHITECTURAL RECORD AWARDS 1998 JURY: MICHAEL BASSERMAN, Chairman and CEO, Mercedes-Benz of North America; BERNARDO FORT-BRESCIA, Principal, Arquitectonica International; SHERRI GELDIN, Director, Wexner Center For The Arts; CHARLES GWATHMEY, Principal, Gwathmey Siegel & Associates; WENDY EVANS JOSEPH, Principal, Wendy Evans Joseph; OLLI KALLASVUO, President, Nokia Inc., and Corporate Executive Vice-President, Nokia Americas; RODOLFO MACHADO, Principal, Machado & Silvetti Associates; JOHN O. NORQUIST, Mayor of Milwaukee; WAYNE M. REHBERGER, Vice-President for Planning, Analysis, & Administration, MCI WorldCom; CHARLES B. ROSE, Principal, Thompson & Rose Architects Return to top | |
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  Return to top IT'S A REAL PLEASURE TO WORK HERE GAP INC. 91 CHERRY OFFICE BUILDING San Bruno, Calif. CLIENT Gap Inc. ARCHITECT William McDonough + Partners; Gensler BUILDING TYPE Corporate headquarters AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, over $25 million 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. Return to top  Return to top DOUBLE DUTCH TREATMENT WASTE-TRANSFER STATION Zenderen, The Netherlands CLIENT Regio Twente ARCHITECT Oosterhuis Associates BUILDING TYPE Waste-sorting facility AWARD CATEGORY Public sector, under $5 million It sits on the flat Netherlands landscape like a zeppelin, a 469-foot-long softly sculptured shed that is, in fact, a huge waste-sorting plant. No one wants such a facility in the neighborhood, so the townsfolk of Zenderen turned to architect Kas Oosterhuis for a solution. The result is a structure whose graceful curves visually reduce its bulky size, allowing it to sit lightly on the landscape. The plant will do its dirty job for up to 15 years--and will then transform itself into a stadium. For now, the shed is built with one side open to accommodate a fleet of trucks bringing garbage to be sorted and hauled off to a nearby landfill. Once that landfill is topped off, however, the shed is designed to be closed, a step toward converting it into a sports stadium or concert hall. The Dutch architect managed to solve a delicate problem in a cost-efficient way that is also easy on the eye. Return to top  Return to top A CONCRETE SOLUTION MCNITT BUILDING Oklahoma City, Ok. CLIENT K.J. McNitt Construction Co. ARCHITECT Elliot + Associates Architects BUILDING TYPE Corporate offices AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, under $1 million One function of architecture can be to showcase what a client is all about--in this case, concrete. In this low-budget headquarters for K.J. McNitt Construction in Oklahoma City, the architect embraced precast concrete construction and turned a building into a demonstration of just what the material can do. By finishing floors and walls to a smooth veneer, shaping the reception desk out of the material, and sculpting a distinctive concrete wall in the parking lot, Elliot + Associates Architects took technology normally used for infrastructure to create an intriguing workspace. Exposed, used oil-pipe bracing for the concrete panels reinforces the idea that inexpensive industrial materials can be used creatively. For $400,000, the client received a 100-by-40-ft. headquarters that advertises the business within. Return to top  Return to top THE TIMES BUILDING: IT'S FIT FOR PRINT THE NEW YORK TIMES PRINTING PLANT College Point, N.Y. CLIENT The New York Times ARCHITECT Polshek and Partners Architects BUILDING TYPE Printing plant AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, over $25 million Using color, industrial materials, and imagination, The New York Times built an efficient printing plant and created a welcoming space for its employees. Polshek and Partners Architects wrapped the Times logo around the building and used a wall of glass to reveal the presses inside. The effect is to advertise the newspaper to millions of motorists passing on a six-lane highway near LaGuardia Airport. Inside, lots of daylight, raised walkways, and a high-tech look define the cavernous, 515,000-square-foot facility. The building is half the size of its sister plant in New Jersey, which was built eight years ago. At $350 million, the new one cost $100 million less but matches the other in output and quality. The Times wanted to use the process of designing the plant to foster a less contentious relationship with its nine unions. Three hundred employees contributed ideas. The jury agreed they had something to say. Return to top  Return to top TEMPLE OF COMMERCE OSHO INTERNATIONAL OFFICES New York CLIENT Osho International ARCHITECT Daniel Rowen Architects BUILDING TYPE Corporate headquarters AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, under $1 million How does an architect design a space for a bUsiness that produces books, tapes, and videos dedicated to An Indian philosopher who urges a meditative approach to life? That was the challenge Osho International gave to Daniel Rowen ArchitEcts. The solution is an elegant, serene, 2,500-square-foot headquarters, full of light and space. The company wanted to consolidate its offices around the world in an environment that was contemplative yet productive. Long, clean, vertical lines and modern materials work toward that end. Cabinets and records are hidden. A translucent, acid-etched glass wall visually quiets the main area. The layout of offices was designed for maximum flexibility, reflecting Osho's nonhierarchical organization and its belief that creative solutions come from a process of "unfoldment." Publishing and multimedia clients like the space so much that they prefer to hold meetings there rather than in their own offices. The budget, including the furniture and the fees for the architect, was $750,000. Return to top  Return to top BEAUTY AND THE BASICS PRAXAIR DISTRIBUTION CENTER Ankeny, Iowa CLIENT Praxair Distribution ARCHITECT Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture BUILDING TYPE Processing and distribution center AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, under $1 million Storing and transporting bottled gas is heavy industrial work, pure and simple. Praxair Distribution, working with Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck Architecture, decided to celebrate this fact and transform a warehouse into a polished-iron tribute to the Industrial Age. Exposed ducts, gleaming pipes, and metal studs give the workplace a distinctive identity. A long skylight slices through the building. A 28-foot-high cylindrical conference room dominates the space. The room is sheathed in two layers of perforated galvanized steel, which admits finely filtered light. The 58,000-square-foot warehouse was converted into a combined distribution and office space for only $45 a square foot. A great example of using inexpensive materials to build an innovative and beautiful working space. Return to top  Return to top A RECRUITMENT STORE THAT PULLS THEM IN FUTURES BY TEMPS Reston, Va. CLIENT Temps & Co. ARCHITECT Adamstein & Demetriou Architects BUILDING TYPE Retail AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, under $1 million Sometimes, architecture can actually give a business a new identity. Take Futures By Temps. The temporary staffing and permanent placement service, facing a shortage of computer-literate, college-educated people, decided to "shop" for them in malls. For help, CEO Steven Ettridge turned to a firm with experience in restaurant design to create a 1,500-square-foot "store" that pulled in people as they strolled by. The idea was to treat applicants as customers and pursue them in high-volume retail areas. Adamstein & Demetriou Architects used visually rich architecture, interactive systems, and Web-site imagery to create a fun experience. Inside, the application area resembles a cafe more than an office. Testing and training spaces have a market feel, with bright colors and metal canopies. It's the office atmosphere replaced by a Starbucks-like environment. Walk-in traffic is twice that of Futures By Temps's traditional offices. All for $300,000 for the prototype, with future stores to go for half that. Return to top  Return to top THE LITTLE PLANT ON THE PRAIRIE QMR PLASTICS DIV. River Falls, Wis. CLIENT Quadion Corp. ARCHITECT James/Snow Architects BUILDING TYPE Manufacturing/office AWARD CATEGORY Private sector, under $25 million Sitting in an 11-acre field of native prairie grasses, QMR Plastics Div. combined production, engineering, and management in a single facility. Julie Snow, an architect who has made a speciality of bringing together white- and blue-collar teams under one roof, designed a large open space. Different functions are separated only by a glass wall. Daylight pours into the workspace, and only glass separates the factory floor from the outdoors. Flexible spaces will allow the company to increase production: Instead of running 12 injection-molding presses on two daily shifts, as in older factories, it can accommodate 20 presses on three shifts. The local River Falls (Wis.) community is especially sensitive to the environment. By surrounding the building with indigenous grasses, QMR made itself welcome. Grass is also a low-maintenance landscaping medium, which saves money. 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