Washington Fruit & Produce Company’s new headquarters building appears to have taken a few design cues from Frodo and Bilbo’s Shire. The building is tucked neatly behind landforms and site walls to blend in with the landscape and provide a refuge from the noise and activity of the industrial processing yards nearby.
The HQ building is modeled after an aging barn the client identified as a favorite with the result being a simple exposed structure that uses a limited material palette and natural patina. Board-formed concrete site walls and earthen berms wrap the perimeter of the HQ to form a central, landscaped courtyard.
Visitors coming from the parking area cross the courtyard via a boardwalk to reach the building entrance; a fully-glazed façade with a series of wood columns spaced across the building in regular intervals. The boardwalk aligns with an offset wood-wrapped entryway inserted into the glazed façade.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
The 18-foot-tall scissored glu-lam structural columns are pulled to the outside to enable the 175-foot-long interior space to be completely column free. The interior, which is topped with 68-foot-long exposed truss girders, reaches a maximum height of 20 feet.
Summer heat gain is limited via south-facing overhangs and high efficiency glazing. Meanwhile a long clerestory dormer on the south side balances interior light. Reclaimed barn wood siding and a weathering steel roof round out the exterior materials.
The interior provides offices along its south wall, while conference spaces and back-of-house functions are set in wood-clad boxes. Furnishings are all kept low in order to reinforce the open feeling of the structure and a raised flooring system further preserves the clean aesthetic of the HQ building.
The L-shaped structure also includes a sales office and a lunchroom featuring a 30-foot-long table where staff and farmers can gather for communal meals.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
Photo courtesy of Kevin Scott.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Mar 7, 2017
Large creative office projects generate staggering returns for property investors
A new Transwestern report examines the adaptive reuse trend across the U.S.
Office Buildings | Mar 2, 2017
White paper from Perkins Eastman and Three H examines how design can inform employee productivity and wellbeing
This paper is the first in a planned three-part series of studies on the evolution of diverse office environments and how the contemporary activity-based workplace (ABW) can be uniquely tailored to support a range of employee personalities, tasks and work modes.
Office Buildings | Mar 2, 2017
Office renovation and addition give new life to a section of Huntsville, Ala.
The newly opened Freedom Center, near Redstone Arsenal, includes a 10,000-sf conference center.
Office Buildings | Feb 24, 2017
The sun’s rays helped shape this Studio Gang-designed NYC tower
Solar Carve Tower advances Studio Gang’s ‘solar carving’ design strategy.
Office Buildings | Feb 16, 2017
Bjarke Ingels Group wins competition to design S.Pellegrino Flagship Factory
The factory will immerse employees and visitors in nature from all sides.
Industry Research | Feb 15, 2017
Putting workers first should be every employer’s priority
The latest Sodexo report on workplace trends explores 10 factors that are impacting the global work environment.
Office Buildings | Feb 8, 2017
London office building employs transitional forms to mediate between the varied heights of surrounding buildings
Friars Bridge Court will provide a transition between the unvarying height of the buildings to the south and the more varied heights of the northern buildings.
Office Buildings | Feb 7, 2017
SOM-designed HQ will provide new riverfront space for C.H. Robinson
Over 1,000 employees will work in the HQ building when completed.
Office Buildings | Feb 6, 2017
The see-through office: Why interior glass is all the rage in workplace design
The hottest material in workplace design—interior glass—opens offices to light and collaboration. But what about privacy and acoustics?
Office Buildings | Feb 3, 2017
Zurich defies center-core office archetype with stacked, cantilevered HQ
The top bar is 500 feet long, spans 180 feet between the bottom two bars, and cantilevers out 60 feet to the east.