flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

New Tommy Bahama HQ looks to ‘Make Life One Long Weekend’ for its employees

Office Buildings

New Tommy Bahama HQ looks to ‘Make Life One Long Weekend’ for its employees

Approximately 400 employees will occupy the SkB Architects-designed space.


By David malone, Associate Editor | February 20, 2018

Photo: Magda Biernat

Tommy Bahama’s new 120,000-sf Seattle campus has a design focused on user experience and was inspired by the company’s ethos to “Make Life One Long Weekend.”

The open, casual setting has spaces that feature a natural material palette and rich textures such as woven fabric wall coverings and rough-honed stone. A “grand boardwalk” organizes the space and draws guests from the main lobby and reception to the showroom, mock store, and collaborative workspaces. Casual seating areas line the boardwalk and provide opportunities for informal gatherings.

 

Tommy Bahama headquartersPhoto: Magda Biernat.

 

Workspaces have been designed with flexibility in mind so users can tailor the environment based on departmental and team requirements. The reception area and amenities are located on an intermediate level of the HQ’s four floors to ensure employee interaction and social engagement.

The company decided to lease the floors for the headquarters space in the base of the office tower as opposed to the upper floors in order to create and reinforce physical and visual connections to the community. Breakout and workspaces were designed around large four-story light monitors with access to the market hall at the base of the building to encourage gathering.

 

Photo: Spencer Lowell.

 

Each floor has its own coffee bar and a 1,000-sf café on the main level opens out to a 1,500-sf roof deck. The office’s customized workstations feature sit-to-stand desks, ergonomic monitor arms, and task lighting.

The building team includes SkB Architects (interior architecture and interior design), MKA (structural), Lima (lighting), GCH (landscape), Stantec (acoustical), Commercial Office Interiors (furniture procurement), University Mechanical (mechanical-plumbing design-build), Veca (electrical design-build), Skanska (contractor).

 

Tommy Bahama roof gardenPhoto: Magda Biernat.

 

Tommy Bahama reception areaPhoto: Magda Biernat.

Related Stories

| Jun 18, 2014

Study shows walkable urbanism has positive economic impact

Walkable communities have a higher GDP, greater wealth, and higher percentages of college grads, according to a new study by George Washington University.

| Jun 18, 2014

Arup uses 3D printing to fabricate one-of-a-kind structural steel components

The firm's research shows that 3D printing has the potential to reduce costs, cut waste, and slash the carbon footprint of the construction sector.

| Jun 17, 2014

World's tallest pair of towers to serve as 'environmental catalyst' for China

The Phoenix Towers are expected to reach 1 km, the same height as Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's Kingdom Tower, but would set a record for multiple towers in one development.

| Jun 16, 2014

6 U.S. cities at the forefront of innovation districts

A new Brookings Institution study records the emergence of “competitive places that are also cool spaces.”

| Jun 12, 2014

Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects' design selected for new UCSC facility

The planned site is a natural landscape among redwood trees with views over Monterey Bay, a site that the architects have called “one of the most beautiful they have ever worked on.”

| Jun 12, 2014

Austrian university develops 'inflatable' concrete dome method

Constructing a concrete dome is a costly process, but this may change soon. A team from the Vienna University of Technology has developed a method that allows concrete domes to form with the use of air and steel cables instead of expensive, timber supporting structures.

| Jun 11, 2014

Bill signing signals approval to revitalize New Orleans’ convention center corridor

A plan to revitalize New Orleans' Convention Center moves forward after Louisiana governor signs bill.

| Jun 11, 2014

5 ways Herman Miller's new office concept rethinks the traditional workplace

Today's technologies allow us to work anywhere. So why come to an office at all? Herman Miller has an answer.

| Jun 10, 2014

Built-in balcony: New skylight windows can fold out to create a patio

Roof window manufacturer Fakro offers a skylight window system that quickly converts into an open-air balcony.

| Jun 9, 2014

Green Building Initiative launches Green Globes for Sustainable Interiors program

The new program focuses exclusively on the sustainable design and construction of interior spaces in nonresidential buildings and can be pursued by both building owners and individual lessees of commercial spaces.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category

Curtain Wall

7 steps to investigating curtain wall leaks

It is common for significant curtain wall leakage to involve multiple variables. Therefore, a comprehensive multi-faceted investigation is required to determine the origin of leakage, according to building enclosure consultants Richard Aeck and John A. Rudisill with Rimkus. 




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