A new Nissan Americas corporate facility designed by Gresham, Smith and Partners has opened in Franklin, Tennessee. Photo: Bob Schatz. Extra Large Image

Pearland · 2008.0730
The mixed-used Pearland Town Center in Pearland, Texas, has opened. The Dallas office of architecture, interiors, and planning firm Omniplan designed the 1.2 million-square-foot (110,000-square-meter) open-air development, which includes approximately 718,000 square feet (66,700 square meters) of retail space, about 40 percent of which is small shops; 50,000 square feet (4,600 square meters) of office space; a 110-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel; and 250 residential units.

Buildings were designed to create pedestrian-friendly outdoor spaces. The master plan for the 143-acre (58-hectare) site includes a restaurant-focused entertainment zone, a community commons with a multiuse pavilion, and a 25-acre (ten-hectare) lake. A clock tower serves as the physical centerpiece.

Stephen Winslow, AIA, LEED AP, served as principal-in-charge for Omniplan. Mayse & Associates of Dallas designed the hotel and Beeler Guest Owens Architects, also of Dallas, designed the residential component.

Tallahassee · 2008.0728
The $55 million James E. King Jr. Life Sciences Building was recently completed at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, as part of a new science quad. Architect of record Elliott Marshall Innes, P.A. of Tallahassee designed the exteriors of the 180,000-square-foot (17,000-square-meter) building and of the adjacent cage wash facility, along with the plaza and common areas, including a two-story lobby and 150-seat auditorium. The building is expected to be LEED certified.

A two-story central lobby joins two five-story wings. The architects integrated extensive glazing with red brick and pre-cast stone to provide daylight while fitting in with the surrounding Jacobean Revival architecture.

The Atlanta, Georgia, office of Lord, Aeck & Sargent programmed and designed the teaching and research laboratories, classrooms, support spaces, laboratory animal resources, greenhouse complex, and the underground cage wash facility. Core support space is located in the center of each floor, with the labs around the outside to allow daylighting.

Grand Island · 2008.0725
In the Grand Island, New York, office of Cannon Design, near Buffalo, Deborah Pease, AIA, has been promoted to vice president and Brian K. Sitzman, AIA, has been appointed principal. Pease has over 30 years of experience in architectural design and construction administration, with a specialty in education projects. Sitzman has 20 years of experience as a healthcare planner and architect, and joined the firm in 1996.

Other recent promotions include Jill Bergman, AIA, ACHA, LEED AP, and Natalie R. Petzoldt, AIA, LEED AP, who were appointed vice president, and Daniel Green, AIA, LEED AP, who was promoted to associate vice president. Mark Whiteley, RIBA, recently joined the firm as a principal.

Washington, D.C. · 2008.0725
Russell Perry, AIA, LEED AP, has assumed the role of managing director in the Washington, D.C., office of SmithGroup. The 200-person office is the largest of the multidisciplinary firm's ten offices. Perry will also continue as corporate director of sustainable design, a role he has held since joining the firm in 2005. He has been active in such projects as the master planning of the historic St. Elizabeth's Campus for the General Services Administration and the Department of Homeland Security.

Perry was previously a partner at William McDonough + Partners of Charlottesville, Virginia, where he led many significant sustainable design projects. Prior to that, Perry served as a partner with Keyes Condon Florance, which merged with SmithGroup predecessor Smith, Hinchman & Grylls in the late 1990s.

Franklin · 2008.0722
The new Nissan Americas corporate facility (pictured above) in Franklin, Tennessee, has opened. The Nashville office of Gresham, Smith and Partners (GS&P) designed the ten-story, 460,000-square-foot (43,000-square-meter) building.

A series of alternating two-story atriums with open stairs connects each floor with the floors above and below. Each office floor is anchored by a "town center" that includes shared functions such as copy, break, and meeting facilities.

Six-foot- (1.8-meter-) deep aluminum sunshade outriggers extend around the perimeter of each floor to reduce solar heat gain. Other sustainable features include a green roof system, digital lighting controls, and an underfloor air distribution system that provides a more controllable environment for employees. Building materials, finishes, and furnishings contain high quantities of recycled content and/or are low in VOCs.

The design for the 50-acre (20-hectare) site incorporates existing features, such as an old farm fence row of mature trees and 2.5 acres (one hectare) of wetlands. Rain gardens and ponds and outdoor gathering spaces were added.

In addition to architectural services, GS&P provided site master planning, conceptual design, workplace strategy, interior design, environmental graphics, landscape architecture, structural engineering, and civil engineering services.

People and Places Last Week

People and Places Archive

ArchitectureWeek Professional Directory
ArchitectureWeek Web Directory