Global Headquarters

145 Lt. George W Lee Ave, Memphis, TN 38103 United States

Building Area (sf): 200,000 sf

Completion: May 2020

The Fortune 50 client sought to consolidate their innovative technology workforce from numerous locations around the world to a single headquarters in downtown Memphis. The selected building was a 150,000 SF guitar manufacturing facility with ad hoc additions made over time. To accommodate the nearly 700 employees within an agile workplace supporting boundless innovation and employee well-being, the design team added 50,000 SF in mezzanine and rooftop area, doubled the amount of window area, added nearly 4,000 SF in skylights, and created outdoor areas to embrace connections to the outdoors as well as to the downtown community.

The Fortune 50 client sought to consolidate their innovative technology workforce from numerous locations around the world to a single headquarters in downtown Memphis. The selected building was a 150,000 SF guitar manufacturing facility with ad hoc additions made over time. To accommodate the nearly 700 employees within an agile workplace supporting boundless innovation and employee well-being, the design team added 50,000 SF in mezzanine and rooftop area, doubled the amount of window area, added nearly 4,000 SF in skylights, and created outdoor areas to embrace connections to the outdoors as well as to the downtown community.

Project Statement: Repurposing a guitar manufacturing facility inside and out to become the global headquarters of a Fortune 50 company within a short timeframe was the challenge. Simultaneously programming, designing and documenting, the team created a singular design vocabulary to guide the vision. Showcase the client’s mission. Enhance the building’s industrial character. Create flexibility for collaborative technology innovators. Focus on wellness and sustainability: daylight and views, comfortable acoustics, indoor/outdoor connection, comfortable lighting and temperature management, encourage physical mobility, offer choice in work environment and intuitive technology. Structural steel was painted dark and expressed, raw concrete and brick left exposed. Windows were added at each façade, and skylights were composed to bring daylight across the entire floor plate without imposing glare onto worksurfaces. Views of the sky were essential. Monumental stairs and large openings between floors wrap stacked shipping containers that serve as meeting areas. The complimentary, contrasting elements of large format plate steel, translucent polygal and metal mesh were introduced to absorb and diffuse light, adding interest and texture. Blocking is exposed. Custom steel and glass pivot doors convey significance of place at the touch of the steel pull. A color palette of light woods, soft wall planes with deep grey-green and pale blue create a tranquil environment with layers of fresh white and citron to punctuate shared spaces. The floor plan streamlines traffic to modulate sound and distraction and finds odd, interesting nooks for “get away” vignettes—lounge seating, small meeting areas with a view, quiet no-click libraries, private phone rooms, or custom standing height flip-top tables. Acoustic insulation, felt baffles, and ceiling panels create an exceptional auditory environment and distinctive visual expression. Two-story gathering spaces at the employee entry and above, as well as at the new penthouse and rooftop, offer a fresh perspective and vantage point from this historic place, looking forward.

1. Nick McGinn Photography
2. Nick McGinn Photography
3. Nick McGinn Photography
4. Nick McGinn Photography
5. Nick McGinn Photography
6. Nick McGinn Photography
7. Nick McGinn Photography
8. Nick McGinn Photography
9. Nick McGinn Photography
10. Nick McGinn Photography