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 | Jun 8, 2021
RMJM Milano wins competition to design Sanko Headquarters in Istanbul, Turkey
The project was selected for its sustainable and innovative features.
Office Buildings | Jun 3, 2021
What's next for workplace design?
Balancing personal space and the need for collaboration.
Digital Twin | May 24, 2021
Digital twin’s value propositions for the built environment, explained
Ernst & Young’s white paper makes its cases for the technology’s myriad benefits.
Office Buildings | May 18, 2021
“The Beam” will be Arizona’s first CLT project
RSP Architects designed the building.
Wood | May 14, 2021
What's next for mass timber design?
An architect who has worked on some of the nation's largest and most significant mass timber construction projects shares his thoughts on the latest design trends and innovations in mass timber.
Office Buildings | Apr 28, 2021
The Salvation Army’s National Headquarters renovation completes
HGA designed the project.
Steel Buildings | Apr 17, 2021
Speed Core wall system is used for the second time in office building in San Jose
The construction method is expected to knock off three months from the project’s schedule.
Office Buildings | Apr 15, 2021
JetBrains St. Petersburg campus to include large, vertically stepped indoor atrium
UNStudio is designing the project.
Office Buildings | Apr 12, 2021
A Fort Myers, Fla., developer finds growth in an office sector that, post COVID, might be catching its second wind
Seagate Development Group has several office projects near completion.
Office Buildings | Apr 7, 2021
Thyssenkrupp’s new HQ will include the tallest elevator test tower in the Western Hemisphere
The facility began construction in August of 2019.
