flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

AAA headquarters embodies a road trip atmosphere

Office Buildings

AAA headquarters embodies a road trip atmosphere

HGA designed the space.


By David Malone, Associate Editor | May 22, 2018
AAA HQ Entry

Photo: HGA

The new interior design of the 50,000-sf space for the American Automobile Association’s (AAA) Northern California, Nevada, and Utah headquarters includes collaborative spaces and attempts to embrace the atmosphere of a classic American road trip.

The building’s redesign, which was handled by HGA, includes the addition of custom Knoll workstations, a conference center, a café area with meeting areas, and a high-impact entryway. The theme of the “American road trip” was incorporated throughout the space.

The boardroom, for example, features a wood treatment that resembles tire tracks and a table with vintage hubcaps. Additionally, headlight light fixtures are found in the conference room and meeting nooks are inspired by 1970s rest areas. Commissioned photography featuring Northern California, Nevada, and Utah environments was made into window film to create the sensation of looking through a car window.

 

AAA HQPhoto: HGA.

 

AAA wanted to new space to attract a younger clientele and workforce, while also retaining the employees they currently have. HGA found that many of the meetings that occur in the office involve four or fewer people, so the firm was able to save AAA substantial square footage and allot significantly more space for meetings by reducing the size of typical conference rooms that previously seated eight to 10 employees.

 

See Also: Telecommunications company’s remodeled headquarters makes use of its unique H shape

 

“We spent a significant amount of time upfront with AAA to find out what was working really well and what things could be improved,” says Melissa Pesci, Principal and Vice President at HGA, in a release. ““AAA had previously established a work environment that was incredibly supportive of focused work, but in an effort to attract a millennial workforce as well as better support and inspire the current employees, AAA wanted a space that was more balanced between offering this focused space in addition to a variety of dynamic collaboration spaces.”

Related Stories

| Apr 13, 2011

Office interaction was the critical element to Boston buildout

Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Boston, designed the new 11,460-sf offices for consultant Interaction Associates and its nonprofit sister organization, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, inside an old warehouse near Boston’s Seaport Center.

| Apr 13, 2011

Red Bull Canada HQ a mix of fluid spaces and high-energy design

The Toronto architecture firm Johnson Chou likes to put a twist on its pared-down interiors, and its work on the headquarters for Red Bull Canada is no exception. The energy drink maker occupies 12,300 sf on the top two floors of a three-story industrial building in Toronto, and the design strategy for its space called for leaving the base building virtually untouched while attention was turned to the interior architecture.

| Apr 13, 2011

Former department store gets new lease on life as MaineHealth HQ

The long-vacant Sears Roebuck building in Portland, Maine, was redeveloped into the corporate headquarters for MaineHealth. Consigli Construction and local firm Harriman Architects + Engineers handled the 14-month fast-track project, transforming the 89,000-sf, four-story facility for just $100/sf.

| Mar 29, 2011

Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm

Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.

| Mar 29, 2011

Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ

Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.

| Mar 11, 2011

Blockbuster remodel transforms Omaha video store into a bank

A former Hollywood Video store in Omaha, Neb., was renovated and repurposed as the SAC Federal Credit Union, Ames Branch. Architects at Leo A Daly transformed the outdated 5,000-sf retail space into a modern facility by wrapping the exterior in poplar siding and adding a new glass storefront that floods the interior with natural light.

| Mar 11, 2011

Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church

The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.

| Mar 9, 2011

Hoping to win over a community, Facebook scraps its fortress architecture

Facebook is moving from its tony Palo Alto, Calif., locale to blue-collar Belle Haven, and the social network want to woo residents with community-oriented design.

| Feb 14, 2011

More companies willing to pay extra for green office space

New CoreNet Global/Jones Lang LaSalle survey shows real estate executives forging green strategies that balance environmental, financial and workforce issues.

| Feb 11, 2011

RS Means Cost Comparison Chart: Office Buildings

This month's RS Means Cost Comparison Chart focuses on office building construction.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Sustainable Design and Construction

Northglenn, a Denver suburb, opens a net zero, all-electric city hall with a mass timber structure

Northglenn, Colo., a Denver suburb, has opened the new Northglenn City Hall—a net zero, fully electric building with a mass timber structure. The 32,600-sf, $33.7 million building houses 60 city staffers. Designed by Anderson Mason Dale Architects, Northglenn City Hall is set to become the first municipal building in Colorado, and one of the first in the country, to achieve the Core certification: a green building rating system overseen by the International Living Future Institute.


MFPRO+ News

San Francisco unveils guidelines to streamline office-to-residential conversions

The San Francisco Department of Building Inspection announced a series of new building code guidelines clarifying adaptive reuse code provisions and exceptions for converting office-to-residential buildings. Developed in response to the Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse program established in July 2023, the guidelines aim to increase the viability of converting underutilized office buildings into housing by reducing regulatory barriers in specific zoning districts downtown. 



Government Buildings

OSHA’s proposed heat standard published in Federal Register

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has published a proposed standard addressing heat illness in outdoor and indoor settings in the Federal Register. The proposed rule would require employers to evaluate workplaces and implement controls to mitigate exposure to heat through engineering and administrative controls, training, effective communication, and other measures.

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021