Foundation in the Midwest

City in the Midwest — 2025

OVERVIEW

A new headquarters was to be designed for working, meetings and occasional gatherings on a gently sloping site immediately adjacent to a woodland forest. We wanted to imbue landscape and light into each of the spaces, so we extended the adjacent forest around and into the center of the building, and strategically opened each internal space to the sky, providing daylight and nature throughout the project. Visual privacy and energy performance were also priorities, and a series of screens were designed and deployed to conceal the interior, providing solar shading and filtered views through the 2 level building.

The new institution comprises approximately 47,000 square feet, with a main level nestled into a gently sloping terrain, organized around a central garden. An adjacent double height space captures southern light, and two feature stairs with glass and painted steel connect levels 1 and 2. The working spaces of both levels are oriented towards the sunlight and more quiet portion of the 4 acre site. The main entry to the project is located along the north face, with parking areas largely concealed from view to the public ways.

The exterior material palette is comprised of terra cotta panels at the solid portions of the enclosure, and each panel is extruded with a subtle ribbed texture and natural colored clay body that blends with a stone aggregate concrete walking and driving surface. Large glass panels optimize light and view around the building perimeter, with slender steel mullions and shaped, painted aluminum sunscreens positioned to provide privacy and shade. The enclosure system was designed with a very minimal depth throughout, enabling occupants to observe a changing landscape through the year, and bringing daylight deep into the spaces on overcast days.

Michael Van Valkenburgh’s team designed the landscape and we worked closely to integrate the architecture with the re-established ecology of the region. The design continues the established forest to the south, with berms positioned along the public ways for privacy and a dense selection of understory, evergreen and deciduous plants and trees planted with a variety of shrubs and understory plants. At every space within the interior of the building, there is a direct connection and view to the surrounding landscape. And at the second floor, a green roof of native grasses rings an outdoor terrace with the garden at its center. The project is close to net zero performance, with geothermal wells and an optimized and efficient ground to air mechanical distribution system. Select solar screening is placed around the perimeter, and there are two north-facing skylights that maximize daylight penetration without direct solar gain, providing balanced natural light throughout the year and most critically, in overcast sky conditions. A high performance, neutral color and minimal reflective coating was selected for the glass enclosure, and the building massing was calibrated to both solar orientation and available views to minimize the solar loads during the warmer part of the year.