Built in 1968, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), at 1.7 million square feet, is the largest office campus in Florida. Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje codesigned the buildings of BRiC for IBM, the campus’s first owner. In the 1980s, IBM developed, manufactured, and mass-produced its first personal computer at BRiC.
For his brutalist design, with a façade repeating the same geometric pattern, Breuer took inspiration from the beauty he found in the repetitions of mass production. Designed for Florida’s tropical climate, the building features heavy concrete shading canopies over its glass windows to provide cooling and protection from the sun. The design also provides protection against hurricane damage such as floods.
After purchasing BRiC in 2018, the building’s current owner, CP Group, has been transforming it from a mostly empty office building into a thriving tech campus. Added amenities include restaurants, art galleries, and coffee shops. CP Group also is in the process of rezoning from a light research and industrial park to a planned mobility development, which will expand BRiC to include office, retail, hospitality, and residential. Additionally, CP Group is pursuing a master plan to add retail, townhomes, and an amphitheater—turning the campus into a town center.
Architecture firm CallisonRTKL has used a phased strategy to provide flexibility around the existing tenants and day-to-day operations while pursuing a ground-up enhancement. CallisonRTKL’s work includes the following:
- Increasing the allowable floor area ratio from four to six and upping the maximum allowable development by 1,123,850 square feet
- Reducing the setbacks from 50 feet to 20 feet
- Standardizing office planning metrics
- Scaling the amenities, landscaping, and infrastructure in tandem with the development’s phases
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: CP Group
Design architects: Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje
Architect of record: CallisonRTKL
Structural engineer: Jezerinac Group
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Feb 23, 2022
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building tops out
The Beam on Farmer, Arizona’s first mass timber, multi-story office building, topped out on Feb. 10, 2022.
Resiliency | Feb 15, 2022
Design strategies for resilient buildings
LEO A DALY's National Director of Engineering Kim Cowman takes a building-level look at resilient design.
Office Buildings | Feb 1, 2022
Mennica Legacy Tower: GP's latest office complex in Warsaw is uniquely designed
Mennica Legacy Tower marks GP’s first completed project in Poland. The Mennica Legacy Tower was developed by an affiliate of Golub & Company LLC and Mennica Towers GGH MT Sp z o o S.K.A, and delivered in collaboration with Epstein, a design firm with offices in Chicago and Warsaw.
Laboratories | Jan 28, 2022
3 must-know strategies for developers in today’s life sciences industry
While the life sciences industry had been steadily growing, this growth exploded when the pandemic arrived—and there is no indication that this lightning-fast pace will slow down any time soon.
Office Buildings | Jan 26, 2022
BlackRock’s Innovation Hub in Atlanta showcases its global design guidelines
The two-story space harkens to the city’s culture and past.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
3D Printing | Jan 12, 2022
Using 3D-printed molds to create unitized window forms
COOKFOX designer Pam Campbell and Gate Precast's Mo Wright discuss the use of 3D-printed molds from Oak Ridge National Lab to create unitized window panels for One South First, a residential-commercial high-rise in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Headquarters | Oct 28, 2021
Florida’s Seagate Development Group tackles design-build projects from a developer’s vantage
A “single point of contact” for clients, says its CEO.
Office Buildings | Oct 26, 2021
A massive office reno project in Detroit sought to create destination spaces for returning workers
The interior design firm Pophouse relied heavily on employee input for a pilot remodel.
Cladding and Facade Systems | Oct 26, 2021
14 projects recognized by DOE for high-performance building envelope design
The inaugural class of DOE’s Better Buildings Building Envelope Campaign includes a medical office building that uses hybrid vacuum-insulated glass and a net-zero concrete-and-timber community center.
