To keep its Miami employees rowing in the same direction, Royal Caribbean recently unveiled plans for a 350,000 SF headquarters building. To be located on the company’s campus on Dodge Island, the headquarters structure is meant to bring together employees who are working in its Miami office spaces.
The building’s design is inspired by the design of its fleet of cruise ships—with flowing lines.
“Informed by the modern design and playful nature of Royal Caribbean’s ships, the building flows up from the water’s edge,” says Kenneth Drucker, FAIA, LEED AP, design principal at HOK. “The undulating facade and terraces eventually culminate in a three-level garden atrium space. This volumetric outdoor space brings the healing power of nature right into the heart of the building, reinforcing Royal Caribbean’s commitment to wellness.”
The edge of each floor will extend out to create horizontal shading canopies. Terraces that face downtown Miami will be situated within the rooftop sky garden—which itself will be set around the executive floor, at the southeast corner of the building, overlooking the ocean.
Created with a curvilinear form, the headquarters building will be showcased at night by LED lighting. The modernistic building will be located close to the cruise terminals and ships in Biscayne Bay.
See Also: Yeti’s new global headquarters evokes the outdoors
The building will be boomerang-shaped, a design that will enable more daylight to enter further into the building. The structure will include offices, an auditorium, cafeteria, and training rooms. The top floor will house an executive suite and event space.
A parking structure that is planned to sit adjacent to the headquarters will include unique features. Atop the parking garage, the soft thud of players kicking balls will be heard across a soccer field, the squeals of athletic shoes will resound from basketball courts, and around it, joggers will jog laps on a running track. The development will be set amidst a greener campus, with less asphalt, in a courtyard with native plants and walking paths.
The headquarters design is being done by HOK. In addition to performing interior design and architecture for the project, HOK is leading master planning, sustainability consulting, experience design, lighting design, and structural engineering.
The design factors in the local environment in common-sense ways. It accounts for both expected and temporary sea level rises in Miami. By raising part of the building well above sea level, a structural contingency is in place, should flooding occur. The lobby will sit more than 15 feet above sea level; some mechanical systems will be situated in a mezzanine level, 20 feet above sea level.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Oct 19, 2023
Proportion of workforce based at home drops to lowest level since pandemic began
The proportion of the U.S. workforce working remotely has dropped considerably since the start of the Covid 19 pandemic, but office vacancy rates continue to rise. Fewer than 26% of households have someone who worked remotely at least one day a week, down sharply from 39% in early 2021, according to the latest Census Bureau Household Pulse Surveys.
Biophilic Design | Oct 18, 2023
6 ways to integrate nature into the workplace
Integrating nature into the workplace is critical to the well-being of employees, teams and organizations. Yet despite its many benefits, incorporating nature in the built environment remains a challenge.
Office Buildings | Oct 16, 2023
The impact of office-to-residential conversion on downtown areas
Gensler's Duanne Render looks at the incentives that could bring more office-to-residential conversions to life.
Government Buildings | Oct 10, 2023
GSA names Elliot Doomes Public Buildings Service Commissioner
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) announced that the agency’s Public Buildings Service Commissioner Nina Albert will depart on Oct. 13 and that Elliot Doomes will succeed her.
Products and Materials | Sep 29, 2023
Top building products for September 2023
BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from smart light switches to glass wall systems.
Office Buildings | Sep 28, 2023
Structural engineering solutions for office-to-residential conversion
IMEG's Edwin Dean, Joe Gulden, and Doug Sweeney, share seven key focuses for structural engineers when planning office-to-residential conversions.
Mixed-Use | Sep 20, 2023
Tampa Bay Rays, Hines finalize deal for a stadium-anchored multiuse district in St. Petersburg, Fla.
The Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball team announced that it has reached an agreement with St. Petersburg and Pinellas County on a $6.5 billion, 86-acre mixed-use development that will include a new 30,000-seat ballpark and an array of office, housing, hotel, retail, and restaurant space totaling 8 million sf.
Giants 400 | Sep 18, 2023
Top 90 Office Building Engineering Firms for 2023
Jacobs, WSP, Alfa Tech, and AECOM head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office building sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all office building work, including core and shell projects and workplace/interior fitouts.
Giants 400 | Sep 18, 2023
Top 120 Office Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, STO Building Group, AECOM, and DPR Construction top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office building sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all office building work, including core and shell projects and workplace/interior fitouts.
Giants 400 | Sep 18, 2023
Top 200 Office Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Stantec, HOK, and Interior Architects top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest office building sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all office building work, including core and shell projects and workplace/interior fitouts.