Commissioned by Pen Air Federal Credit Union as a new 54,000 SF Corporate Headquarters on their existing 16-acre site in Pensacola, FL,  their new “Back Campus” building will redefine and modernize the workplace experience for their staff and align building design with their progressive workplace culture.

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The Building, located on the edge of a residential zone, seeks to become a friendly neighbor by minimizing its impact with the creation of a residential “Front Yard,” the siting of the narrow end of the building face towards the street minimizing its perceived volume, and with careful placement hiding the building parking and its services.  The existing site is nothing short but spectacular.  A vibrant, green oasis filled with Heritage Live Oak Trees.  At the Heart of the site is a singled-out 500-year-old live oak behemoth.  The building and its parking will not require the removal of a single tree and will instead bow to the natural beauty presented by the site.

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Connecting the existing corporate “Front Campus” Building to the new “Back Campus” Building will be a meandering nature trail capturing sweeping vistas, providing informal, exterior meeting spaces complete with subtle pavilions, and offering secluded, quite nodes within the tree hammocks and wetlands on site.

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The interior design and layout of the building will allow all building occupants to have access to natural light and views of the site.  At the core of the building, a cross-axis circulation pattern we are calling “main street” is designed to create informal interactions between departmental employees.  Shared break rooms “Commons” take on a residential character with a variety of seating from café tables to living room furniture to private booths.  A variety of space sizes and type will be provided to allow “choice” in how one wants to work from group collaboration to single, head-down focus work.