Skender has completed construction on the new Walgreens Technology Center of Excellence in Chicago’s redeveloped Old Post Office. Post COVID, the 200,000-sf office will welcome hundreds of employees from e-commerce, mobile, pharmacy technology, as well as digital team members and Walgreens Boots Alliance Information Technology personnel.
The office spans multiple levels and buildings of the Old Post Office development. It features a signature staircase, open and private offices, collaboration and conferencing spaces, data rooms, and kitchen and lounge spaces.
Within the workplace, the communal spaces are located in the central core of the building, forming a "city center." Zones for groupings of individual workstations and specific amenities, which form "neighborhoods," stem from the city center. Each neighborhood has its own identity, and the collection of neighborhoods stitches the community together.
Courtesy Stantec.
"Town centers" bookened the neighborhoods. The town centers comprise huddle rooms, break areas, and smaller conference rooms. The main circulation artery breaks the city grid like the European urban plan, which connects all spaces across the massive floor plate.
Located on the first floor is the new Walgreens University spacve. This space celebrates the company's legacy and its future. It will welcome new hires and current employees for training, meetings, and special events. The Innovation Hall, meanwhile, will showcase a series of creation labs to display the innovative culture and history of Walgreens. The design is intended to support flexibility with content changing regularly, and engage people who enter from the building's main entry.
Courtesy Stantec.
The project will increase Walgreens presence in Chicago and signifies a commitment to attracting top technology talent. In addition to Skender acting as the general contractor, Stantec, along with Walgreens in-house development group, handled the architecture, integrated buildings engineering, and interior design services.
See Also: Chicago’s Old Post Office get new zip with massive $900 million renovation
Courtesy Skender.
Courtesy Skender.
Courtesy Skender.
Related Stories
| Mar 29, 2011
Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm
Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.
| Mar 29, 2011
Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ
Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.
| Mar 11, 2011
Blockbuster remodel transforms Omaha video store into a bank
A former Hollywood Video store in Omaha, Neb., was renovated and repurposed as the SAC Federal Credit Union, Ames Branch. Architects at Leo A Daly transformed the outdated 5,000-sf retail space into a modern facility by wrapping the exterior in poplar siding and adding a new glass storefront that floods the interior with natural light.
| Mar 11, 2011
Chicago office building will serve tenants and historic church
The Alter Group is partnering with White Oak Realty Partners to develop a 490,000-sf high-performance office building in Chicago’s West Loop. The tower will be located on land owned by Old St. Patrick’s Church (a neighborhood landmark that survived the Chicago Fire of 1871) that’s currently being used as a parking lot.
| Mar 9, 2011
Hoping to win over a community, Facebook scraps its fortress architecture
Facebook is moving from its tony Palo Alto, Calif., locale to blue-collar Belle Haven, and the social network want to woo residents with community-oriented design.
| Feb 14, 2011
More companies willing to pay extra for green office space
New CoreNet Global/Jones Lang LaSalle survey shows real estate executives forging green strategies that balance environmental, financial and workforce issues.
| Feb 11, 2011
RS Means Cost Comparison Chart: Office Buildings
This month's RS Means Cost Comparison Chart focuses on office building construction.
| Feb 11, 2011
Kentucky’s first green adaptive reuse project earns Platinum
(FER) studio, Inglewood, Calif., converted a 115-year-old former dry goods store in Louisville, Ky., into a 10,175-sf mixed-use commercial building earned LEED Platinum and holds the distinction of being the state’s first adaptive reuse project to earn any LEED rating. The facility, located in the East Market District, houses a gallery, event space, offices, conference space, and a restaurant. Sustainable elements that helped the building reach its top LEED rating include xeriscaping, a green roof, rainwater collection and reuse, 12 geothermal wells, 81 solar panels, a 1,100-gallon ice storage system (off-grid energy efficiency is 68%) and the reuse and recycling of construction materials. Local firm Peters Construction served as GC.
| Feb 11, 2011
Chicago architecture firm planning one of China’s tallest towers
Chicago-based Goettsch Partners was commissioned by developer Guangzhou R&F Properties Co. Ltd. to design a new 294,570-sm mixed-use tower in Tianjin, China. The Tianjin R&F Guangdong Tower will be located within the city’s newly planned business district, and at 439 meters it will be one of China’s tallest buildings. The massive complex will feature 134,900 sm of Class A office space, a 400-key, five-star hotel, 55 condominiums, and 8,550 sm of retail space. The architects are designing the tower with multi-story atriums and a high-performance curtain wall to bring daylight deep into the building, thereby creating deeper lease spans. The project is currently finishing design.