Howard Building Corporation

Project Description

Red Bull North America is the world’s premium energy beverage manufacturer, known for bold, unique marketing campaigns that include film, documentaries, extreme sports, art and music events. The company’s exponential growth and diversification resulted in much needed additional office space in close proximity to their current offices in Santa Monica.  They leased 1630 Stewart St., a 74,000 SF warehouse facility that was originally a brick-making factory, among other things, and they engaged Howard Building Corporation (HBC) and local architecture firm, Wolcott, to design and construct their space.

Prior to Red Bull North America’s occupancy, the building was multi-tenanted and thus divided into smaller suites. The interior was completely demolished to accommodate an open floor plan as well as expand the existing mezzanine for more usable work and meeting room space.  Weekly meetings and close communication with the Client were vital to ensure successful execution of the design, which incorporated the existing charm of the building – red brick and steel columns – in a cohesive manner.

The new design posed many challenges and required close communication with the City of Santa Monica and various engineering firms to resolve various structural challenges. Due to the exceptionally limited access to the building prior to and during design, full access to the site occurred only when demolition began, and the team found that the existing conditions did not allow enough clearance between the slab and underside of the mezzanine and from the mezzanine level to the roof for the designed HVAC system.  Consequently, much of the planned HVAC system was redesigned utilizing a VRF system, which requires no main ducts.  Any existing ducts that remained were rerouted.  Despite these and other challenges, the team worked through them with the architects, consultants and the client, deftly solving issues as they arose and successfully adding 20,000 SF of mezzanine space.

The first floor design is centered on a main street concept that connects the employee café and barista, reception and informal meeting space and interior gardens, marrying the client’s collaborative nature immediately upon entering the building. The first floor also includes additional details that represent the lifestyle element of the client’s brand, including a gallery that showcases the client’s “greatest moments” through helmets, a space suit, and other storytelling elements. Eight super graphics that represent the client’s most successful events were installed in key areas of the space.

However, the jewel of the building is truly the visual center which is comprised of a series of strategically placed floating conference rooms located on the mezzanine level. Angled for visual interest, they play with perspective in the space. Since the building was not on native soil, the construction of these rooms required the installation of the 70’ deep concrete piles to support their structures. These rooms are considered the highlight of the build-out with full height glass and MDF wall panels painted with custom automotive paints.

Another key feature of the space are the inner gardens featuring full height trees and lush fauna. Holes were punched in the slab to incorporate the live trees, and a dramatic skylight was installed over the lobby to introduce additional natural light.  The combination of hard brick and steel, reclaimed wood, live plants, natural light and bold graphics successfully represents the dynamic nature of one of the world’s most iconic brands.

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