Howard Building Corporation

Project Description

Occupying over 150,000 square feet in two connected buildings at the Hercules Campus at Playa Vista, Belkin consolidated two separate offices, previously located in Hollywood and Compton, into one campus that now houses its product development, R&D, design, sales, marketing, and administrative teams. 80,000 square feet are dedicated to office workspace, and 34,000 square feet reside in product development and research laboratories. A 7,000 square foot café and kitchen serves the entire campus.

Belkin worked closely with architects at Gensler to emphasize an open floor plan filled with natural light and informal meeting spaces. A landscaped terrace, especially suited for outdoor discussions and lunching, connects the two Belkin buildings and leads directly to the café. Inside the café sits a large communal table made of a single slab of wood, salvaged from a fallen tree.

Exposed ceilings above open workspaces create volume while hard lid ceilings at the communal areas bring a more intimate feeling to meeting spaces. Curved wall features and built in seating surround private meeting areas, and translucent materials allow light to pass into internal spaces from the outside.

Sustainable design features in this LEED-Gold certified project include green spaces, daylight-sensitive lighting, cool-landscaped roofs, locally sourced building materials, and low water-consuming plumbing fixtures. The Belkin campus is one of only a few projects in Los Angeles that have achieved the LEED Gold level of certification.

Honors