Panama City’s desire to regenerate and transform the downtown area and its marina needed to start with the relocation of the city hall. The purchase and renovation of the old Trustmark Building allowed the City to combine most of its services under one roof. The 58,000sf facility was initially thought to only require minor renovations to move in and occupy. That scope; however, did not include the exterior skin or the roof. Wisely, the city chose to address those issues during the renovation and tasked DAG Architects with creating a new experience for this prominent city corner in downtown in hopes to inspire a new standard for design in the downtown area.

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A new exterior skin design was developed that not only enhanced the “feel” of the building from the street side, but also allowed more natural light into the interior spaces and greatly increased the energy efficiency of the envelope system. These design elements will pay dividends for years to come in the form of greater public and employee comfort as well as lower energy costs for the City throughout the new life of the building.

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The new building roof and parapet designs were incorporated into the exterior skin which further enhances the final appearance. The parapet had to be re-engineered to ensure its structural integrity and the new roof work required the removal and replacement of small sections at a time to avoid large exposure to constant weather events common in Panama City. During the roof replacement, the HVAC equipment on the roof was raised to allow proper roof techniques and details to be employed.  The security of having a properly installed roof system will benefit the city for many years to come.  

On the interior spaces, there was an effort to reuse as many existing walls as possible to limit new work. This was effective relating to wall framing, but due to the changing needs for power, data, and communications, almost every wall required new finishes.

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The City originally expected to self-perform the Telecom and Security scopes for the project, but as work was released they quickly realized that they would not be able to keep up with construction progress. As a result, these additional services were added to DAG’s contract and quickly coordinated with the rest of the work.     

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