Typically, banks are not the most open, airy, and inviting of spaces. Like a shirt and tie that are just a bit too small, they can sometimes feel a bit stuffy and suffocating. Finances already cause enough stress and gloom in people’s everyday lives, so why do financial institutions all have a shared aesthetic with a mortuary?
SmithGroupJJR, The Christman Company, and Lake Trust Credit Union were asking that same question. And with the help of some employee collaboration workshops, the new $26 million dollar Lake Trust Credit Union headquarters, located in Brighton, Mich., is anything but stuffy.
The new headquarters building, which is home to 240 employees and is designed to accommodate up to 325 employees, offers a 100% open work environment, bucking the trend of the dark, stuffy designs many financial institutions opt to go with.
The 100,000-sf headquarters sits on a diverse 16-acre site that features wetlands, woodlands, and rolling topography. In an effort to connect to the surrounding outdoors, the headquarters has a two-story front porch, a second floor balcony equipped with an outdoor dining area, and a terrace overlooking the wetlands located on the north side of the building. In addition, the front entry has a living wall serving as the backdrop.
The interior of the building also has this “un-bank” theme carried throughout. The building’s three levels are connected with a grand stair and a large atrium that can double as an impromptu auditorium. Amenities include a full-service cafeteria and a dining space.
The new headquarters is targeting LEED certification with the use of sustainable design features such as large expanses of efficient, low-e glass for ample natural light and improved insulation, refurbished wood paneling from demolished Detroit buildings, and bioswales restored with native vegetation to help with storm water management.
The president and CEO of Lake Trust Credit Union, David Snodgrass, described the building as “very un-corporate like” and said it looks more like something you would find at a company like Facebook or Google, rather than a financial institution.
SmithGroupJJR provided the design services such as programming, architecture, interior design, and all of the engineering. The Christman Company provided a wide array of development, program management, and construction management services. Finally, Interior Environments helped to furnish the building.
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Photo Courtesy of SmithGroupJJR
Related Stories
| May 25, 2011
Developers push Manhattan office construction
Manhattan developers are planning the city's biggest decade of office construction since the 1980s, betting on rising demand for modern space even with tenants unsigned and the availability of financing more limited. More than 25 million sf of projects are under construction or may be built in the next nine years.
| May 18, 2011
Lab personnel find comfort in former Winchester gun factory
The former Winchester Repeating Arms Factory in New Haven, Conn., is the new home of PepsiCo’s Biology Innovation Research Laboratory.
| May 16, 2011
Virtual tour: See U.S. Green Building Council’s new LEED Platinum HQ—and earn CE credits
A virtual tour of the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED Platinum HQ is available. The tour features embedded videos, audio podcasts, and information on building materials and products used throughout the space. By taking the virtual tour, professionals can earn GBCI Continuing Education hours for the LEED AP with specialty and LEED Green Associate credentials.
| May 11, 2011
DOE releases guide for 50% more energy-efficient office buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the release of the first in a new series of Advanced Energy Design Guides to aid in the design of highly energy efficient office buildings. The 50% AEDG series will provide a practical approach to commercial buildings designed to achieve 50% energy savings compared to the commercial building energy code used in many areas of the country.
| May 10, 2011
Google hires Ingenhoven Architects to design new Mountain View office
The current Googleplex is straining at the seams and yet the company is preparing its biggest hiring surge ever, so Google decided now’s the time to build its own office space—a first for the Internet giant. The company hired Ingenhoven Architects, a German firm that specializes in sustainable architecture, to create plans for what could be a 600,000-sf office.
| Apr 13, 2011
Office interaction was the critical element to Boston buildout
Margulies Perruzzi Architects, Boston, designed the new 11,460-sf offices for consultant Interaction Associates and its nonprofit sister organization, The Interaction Institute for Social Change, inside an old warehouse near Boston’s Seaport Center.
| Apr 13, 2011
Red Bull Canada HQ a mix of fluid spaces and high-energy design
The Toronto architecture firm Johnson Chou likes to put a twist on its pared-down interiors, and its work on the headquarters for Red Bull Canada is no exception. The energy drink maker occupies 12,300 sf on the top two floors of a three-story industrial building in Toronto, and the design strategy for its space called for leaving the base building virtually untouched while attention was turned to the interior architecture.
| Apr 13, 2011
Former department store gets new lease on life as MaineHealth HQ
The long-vacant Sears Roebuck building in Portland, Maine, was redeveloped into the corporate headquarters for MaineHealth. Consigli Construction and local firm Harriman Architects + Engineers handled the 14-month fast-track project, transforming the 89,000-sf, four-story facility for just $100/sf.
| Mar 29, 2011
Chicago’s Willis Tower to become a vertical solar farm
Chicago’s iconic Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) is set to become a massive solar electric plant with the installation of a pilot solar electric glass project.
| Mar 29, 2011
Read up on Amazon.com's new green HQ
Phase IV of Amazon’s new headquarters in Seattle is nearly complete. The company has built 10 of the 11 buildings planned for its new campus in the South Lake Union neighborhood, and is on-track for a 2013 grand opening.
