Project Description
A new headquarters of a family owned, statewide Caterpillar (CAT) representative replaces a 50-year-old building with a new energy efficient, light filled structure overlooking their equipment yard that reflects the branding, quality, and technical ability of this world renowned manufacturer of heavy equipment.
The challenge presented was to create a highly expressive, personal structure that represented the company in a unique way for the same cost associated with the normal suburban developer office building. Designed with an exposed steel structure that reflects the Miesian sensibility of the adjacent 1950s warehouse (which was also renovated into a training center), the building acts as a large open shed that shelters key programmatic elements, and is designed to be reminiscent of large earth moving equipment. The structure is used to tell the industrial story and economically to hit the budget requirements. Refined corporate finishes are incorporated at a personal level, juxtaposed against a raw industrial expression that speaks to the company identity. The manufacturer’s equipment was studied to draw inspiration for building forms and details, from abstract arm booms and haul truck box beds to grader blades dug into the earth.
The building connects to the site visually, physically, and metaphorically, emulating the way workers and their equipment are used in the construction environment. It is a perfect refection of the technical prowess, corporate identity, and family atmosphere of the company.
The project received an AIA Arkansas Honor Award, as well as the Member’s Choice Award, voted by the membership as their favorite new building for 2016. In 2018 it was named an IDEAS2 winner in the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) national awards.