To keep its Miami employees rowing in the same direction, Royal Caribbean recently unveiled plans for a 350,000 SF headquarters building. To be located on the company’s campus on Dodge Island, the headquarters structure is meant to bring together employees who are working in its Miami office spaces.
The building’s design is inspired by the design of its fleet of cruise ships—with flowing lines.
“Informed by the modern design and playful nature of Royal Caribbean’s ships, the building flows up from the water’s edge,” says Kenneth Drucker, FAIA, LEED AP, design principal at HOK. “The undulating facade and terraces eventually culminate in a three-level garden atrium space. This volumetric outdoor space brings the healing power of nature right into the heart of the building, reinforcing Royal Caribbean’s commitment to wellness.”
The edge of each floor will extend out to create horizontal shading canopies. Terraces that face downtown Miami will be situated within the rooftop sky garden—which itself will be set around the executive floor, at the southeast corner of the building, overlooking the ocean.
Created with a curvilinear form, the headquarters building will be showcased at night by LED lighting. The modernistic building will be located close to the cruise terminals and ships in Biscayne Bay.
See Also: Yeti’s new global headquarters evokes the outdoors
The building will be boomerang-shaped, a design that will enable more daylight to enter further into the building. The structure will include offices, an auditorium, cafeteria, and training rooms. The top floor will house an executive suite and event space.
A parking structure that is planned to sit adjacent to the headquarters will include unique features. Atop the parking garage, the soft thud of players kicking balls will be heard across a soccer field, the squeals of athletic shoes will resound from basketball courts, and around it, joggers will jog laps on a running track. The development will be set amidst a greener campus, with less asphalt, in a courtyard with native plants and walking paths.
The headquarters design is being done by HOK. In addition to performing interior design and architecture for the project, HOK is leading master planning, sustainability consulting, experience design, lighting design, and structural engineering.
The design factors in the local environment in common-sense ways. It accounts for both expected and temporary sea level rises in Miami. By raising part of the building well above sea level, a structural contingency is in place, should flooding occur. The lobby will sit more than 15 feet above sea level; some mechanical systems will be situated in a mezzanine level, 20 feet above sea level.
Related Stories
| Dec 27, 2014
'Core-first' construction technique cuts costs, saves time on NYC high-rise project
When Plaza Construction first introduced the concept of "core first" in managing the construction of a major office building, the procedure of pouring concrete prior to erecting a steel frame had never been done in New York City.
| Dec 19, 2014
Zaha Hadid unveils dune-shaped HQ for Emirati environmental management company
Zaha Hadid Architects released designs for the new headquarters of Emirati environmental management company Bee’ah, revealing a structure that references the shape and motion of a sand dune.
| Dec 18, 2014
In response to ultra-open and uber-collaborative office environments
Susan Cain’s bestselling 2012 book, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking" has made an impact on how we understand our current workforce, recognizing that at least one-third of the people we work with are introverts, writes SRG Partnership's Susan Gust.
| Dec 12, 2014
COBE's striking 'concrete finned' scheme wins competition for Adidas' flagship building in Germany
Danish firm COBE has been announced the winner in a contest to design a new Adidas flagship building in Herzogenaurach, Germany. It beat out 29 other teams, including REX and Zaha Hadid.
| Dec 10, 2014
International Olympic Committee releases first images of new HQ in Switzerland
Designed by 3XN, the new headquarters is located within a park on the shores of Lake Geneva and adjacent to historic Château de Vidy, which has been the iconic home of the IOC.
| Dec 6, 2014
Future workplace designs shouldn’t need to favor one generation over another, says CBRE report
A new CBRE survey finds that what Millennials expect and need from offices doesn’t vary drastically from tenured employees.
| Dec 2, 2014
Nonresidential construction spending rebounds in October
This month's increase in nonresidential construction spending is far more consistent with the anecdotal information floating around the industry, says ABC's Chief Economist Anirban Basu.
| Nov 29, 2014
20 tallest towers that were never completed
Remember the Chicago Spire? What about Russia Tower? These are two of the tallest building projects that were started, but never completed, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. The CTBUH Research team offers a roundup of the top 20 stalled skyscrapers across the globe.
| Nov 26, 2014
U.S. Steel decides to stay in Pittsburgh, plans new HQ near Penguins arena
The giant steelmaker has agreed to move into a new headquarters that is slated to be part of a major redevelopment.
| Nov 25, 2014
Behnisch Architekten unveils design for energy-positive building in Boston
The multi-use building for Artists For Humanity that is slated to be the largest energy positive commercial building in New England.