Summit East Hillside Building

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Hillside Office Building
Tallahassee, Florida
Completed 2005
Budget: $560,000

A 60,000 square foot building, with one and a half floors being occupied by one tenant with the remaining floors occupied by separate tenants. Building access, security and site planning were major design issues on this project and were successfully completed. Computer renderings and animations were provided for the building and office park marketing. The project was delivered using a fast track design build team. The Summit East Office Park was created to provide a new kind of workplace. A high technology, high amenity, commercial campus, supporting forward thinking companies and their employees in the 21st century. Mainline's global headquarters is the park's prototype building.

Mainline is a Fortune 500 high technology company that needed a facility to meet today's technology needs and tomorrow's technology growth. The company's president envisioned a technology campus surrounded by nature. He wanted the building to take advantage of and incorporate the natural features of the pristine site, while still promoting the image of a "High Tech Global Company." He wanted free public access to portions of the building, while maintaining a high level of security in work areas. Creating a feeling of home for employees and an interaction between staff and administration was paramount.

In our design, the building became the campus with program areas being connected through open "living" areas. We developed two axes to differentiate between the public vs. private spaces and the "man made" office vs. the "organic" living areas. Each axes focuses the occupant's views and leads them toward select natural features of the site. The building was constructed of split faced concrete block and glass to elicit a feeling of the building growing from the earth, as the site slopes to the adjacent pond. The building is comprised of open office team environments with two story glass walls, providing breathtaking views. The administration suite is strategically located at the opposite end of the building from the entry, promoting interaction.

Concept Sketch Hand Rendered The Hillside Office Building is the second of our three commissions in the Summit East Technology Park. The building was designed to convey the technology theme of the park, while retaining a strong connection to nature and the surrounding environment. The building is built into the side of the site’s hill with a partial basement floor. The building contains multiple meeting rooms, offices, and a food service cafeteria.

Photographs provided by Lefstead Photography (850) 766-1555