PROJECT OVERVIEW
The 850,000-SF property includes
an 800-car garage, ground-floor retail, and rooftop terrace with 360-degree
views of the Charlotte skyline. The design reflects the simple, functional
brick language of South End’s historic manufacturing buildings, and the glass
penthouse floors nod to the technology-focused mission of the company. The
site, formerly a brownfield, occupies two contiguous city blocks; the master
plan is designed around a central mid-block spine of both exterior and interior
public spaces to provide a strong pedestrian connection from Tryon Street to
Bank of America Stadium.
This tower integrates into the
large urban mixed-use Legacy Union development also master planned and designed
by the architecture team. The tower consists of a double-height ground floor
housing the company’s lobby, retail, and restaurant space. Above the ground
floors are 12 levels of secure employee parking with a helical ramping system
connected to a central parking structure for the larger development. Ten floors
of office space rise above the parking levels, and their position above the
parking structure allows glazing on all sides. Capping the building is a
double-height, all-glass penthouse housing a Visitor Learning Center with
exhibits, reception, and entertainment space.
The project was designed and
constructed over a period of two years at a construction cost of $100 million.
PRECAST SOLUTION
The architectural precast concrete cladding was
used to expedite onsite construction. Thin brick that has a gently tumbled appearance
allows for an imperfect look that is more characteristic of a traditional brick
installation. Selecting precast concrete cladding with cast-in thin brick
reduced the amount of onsite labor required to lay brick on a high-rise
building, making it the most economical solution for the project. The precaster
produced nearly 95,000 SF of architectural precast concrete cladding with
formliner, thin-brick, and medium acid etch finishes for the project.
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