On a 21-acre site straddling two townships, Empire Merchants North wanted to build a state-of-the-art corporate headquarters and distribution center in upstate New York to ease accessibility and distribution logistics and consolidate two existing facilities into one new location. The site required careful planning to create an efficient building footprint that stayed within the boundaries of one township. Working closely in collaboration, BBL Construction Services and KSS came together as a design/build team to tackle the challenge.
KSS designed an innovative site plan that simultaneously creates an interesting main entrance experience and adheres to the Township line by using a sawtooth building footprint along the public facade. The resulting niches from the sawtooth pattern form a welcoming office plaza framed by trees, flagpoles, and a low stone wall.
Working with the township planning board, the project team secured approvals for the project in an incredibly short time period. Part of the design’s appeal was the materials proposed for the exterior of the sawtooth entrance: Load-bearing concrete panels have an exposed aggregate finish inspired by stones from around the township and include hues representative of colors from the area. Tall vertical windows march along the main facade, adding height to the relatively long and narrow building.
