Despite a coronavirus pandemic that has delayed or postponed projects across typologies and markets, the design firm Ware Malcomb has managed to buck that trend with design work for new buildings and spaces that serve some of the country’s hardest-hit sectors, like retail and offices, as well as some, like industrial, that have prospered during the health crisis.
Since last spring, Ware Malcomb’s completed projects have included:
•In December, the relocation of Key Food Stores Co-op’s corporate offices from Staten Island, N.Y., to 38,000 sf of Class A office space in Old Bridge, N.J. The new digs, on two floors, includes a reception area, conference rooms, a fitness center, and wellness room. The space also features an executive suite, and a test kitchen. Aside from providing interior architecture and design services, Ware Malcomb’s in-house branding studio designed environmental graphics into the workspace and amenity areas. Unity Construction Services was the project’s GC; CBRE was its broker and project manager.
•New office space for Airspace Technologies, the air transport shipping firm, located within the two-building, 235,000-sf Atlas at Carlsbad (Calif.) campus that Ware Malcomb helped to transform in 2017. Airspace Technologies is leasing 23,000 sf that are divided into three department “neighborhoods”: Design, Engineering, and Administrative. A centrally located reception, boardroom, and break area serves as a hub for employees. Ware Malcomb provided interior architecture and design services for this project, which was completed in October. The GC was Good & Roberts; the CM Hughes Marino; and the furniture supplier Cultura.
•Last summer, the 7,500-sf Vallejo First 5 Center opened as a learning and play space for children five years old or younger from low-income families. The space, inside the Vallejo (Calif.) Shopping Mall, has as its focal point a large indoor playground featuring a fantasy theme of bugs and the outdoors. Ware Malcomb provided the interior design architecture and design services, and Underwood Construction was the GC.
L'Oreal's Pulp Riot brand is now working out of new office space in Encino, Calif. Image: Haley Hill Photography
•New offices in Encino, Calif., that Ware Malcomb designed for L’Oreal’s Pulp Riot hair coloring product line. The 6,600-sf space encompasses a hair demo salon, conference rooms, open and flex offices, and a photo studio. It also serves as a training facility for stylists who come from around the country. The GC on this project, completed in July, was Pinnacle.
•Loloi Rugs’ newest facility, which opened in Atlanta last May, is a build-to-suit 646,380-sf building that incorporates a distribution center, warehouse, office space, and product showroom. Ware Malcomb designed 10,000 sf of interior office space and the 5,000-sf showroom. The offices, located on the periphery of the floorplate, have large windows and glass walls to maximize natural light exposure for the space. Ware Malcomb’s GC partner was Alston Construction.
Ware Malcomb designed the interior space and showroom for Loloi Rugs' new warehouse in Atlanta. Image: Johnny McLendon Photography
BIO-MASS BOILER A FIRST FOR ITS MARKET
Yesterday, Ware Malcomb announced the completion of the new Denver headquarters for TruStile, an industry leader in interior doors whose parent company is Marvin Windows & Doors. The headquarters includes 50,000 sf of office space and 260,000 sf of manufacturing/production space with a large outdoor amenity deck.
Bringing natural light into the building was an important design feature for TruStile's new headquarters. Image: Inside Out Studios
Ware Malcomb provided architecture, interior design, and engineering services for this project, which was built by Ryan Companies. The design team, at TruStile’s behest, ensured the layout of the open office and amenity areas were located near windows as much as possible. The production area is also visible from the building’s training room and various points in the office.
TruStile—which had been operating out of four buildings in Denver—has combined its operations into a single structure whose environmental features include a two-story mechanical building at its northern flank housing a bio-mass boiler that converts sawdust produced by the factory into energy for heating and cooling.
This site was constrained by its proximity to a 100-year floodplain. It required a development permit and a letter of map amendment and letter of map revision based on fill, known as a LOMR-F, whose issuance eliminates the federal flood insurance purchase requirement as a condition of federal or federally backed financing. This project also required a large underground detention system that was the first of its kind in Colorado.
ECOMMERCE IS DRIVING NEW PROJECTS
640 Columbia in Brooklyn, N.Y., will provide “last mile” distribution logistics for ecommerce. Image credit: Neoscape
Among the projects that Ware Malcomb currently has under construction is a multistory distribution center, known as 640 Columbia, which the firm developed in collaboration with DH Property Holdings and the GC firm Suffolk Construction.
Located on 4.5 acres in Brooklyn, N.Y., the 370,000-sf facility—which follows an industrial design prototype that Ware Malcomb came up with in 2017 for land-constrained sites—will provide so-called “last mile” logistics for the delivery of online purchases. The facility will include a warehouse, office space, two levels of truck docks, a mezzanine with parking, and dedicated elevator service on the third floor. An attached 77,853-sf parking structure will accommodate up to 184 vehicles for employees.
Since 2017, Ware Malcomb has designed approximately 20 million sf of industrial distribution projects in North America. The Brooklyn facility is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2021. Its building team includes SMBH Structural Engineering (SE), WB Engineers and Consultants (MEP/FP), and Bohler Engineering (CE).
Related Stories
Coronavirus | May 26, 2020
9 tips for mastering virtual public meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic
Mike Aziz, AIA, presents 9 tips for mastering virtual public meetings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Architects | May 26, 2020
AIA honors exceptional designs with its COTE Top Ten Awards
Projects integrate high design with advanced performance in ten key areas.
Coronavirus | May 22, 2020
COVID-19: Healthcare designers look to the future of medical facilities in light of coronavirus pandemic
The American College of Healthcare Architects (ACHA) has released the key findings of a survey of its members revealing their insights on the future of healthcare architecture and the role of design in the context of the COVID-19 healthcare crisis.
Coronavirus | May 18, 2020
Infection control in office buildings: Preparing for re-occupancy amid the coronavirus
Making workplaces safer will require behavioral resolve nudged by design.
Data Centers | May 8, 2020
Data centers as a service: The next big opportunity for design teams
As data centers compete to process more data with lower latency, the AEC industry is ideally positioned to develop design standards that ensure long-term flexibility.
Coronavirus | Apr 30, 2020
Gilbane shares supply-chain status of products affected by coronavirus
Imported products seem more susceptible to delays
Architects | Apr 23, 2020
Take a virtual tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Robie House
Explore the building with Frank Lloyd Wright Trust curator David Bagnall.
Coronavirus | Apr 21, 2020
COVID-19 update: CallisonRTKL, Patriot, PODS, and USACE collaborate on repurposed containers for ACFs
CallisonRTKL and PODS collaborate on repurposed containers for ACFs
Multifamily Housing | Apr 15, 2020
Related Group picks Stantec to design and engineer Manor Miramar residences in Florida
Related Group picks Stantec to design and engineer Manor Miramar residences in Florida.
Coronavirus | Apr 4, 2020
COVID-19: Architecture firms churn out protective face shields using their 3D printers
Architecture firms from coast to coast have suddenly turned into manufacturing centers for the production of protective face shields and face masks for use by healthcare workers fighting the COVID-10 pandemic.