Keast & Hood provided structural engineering design services for adaptive reuse of a 112,000-sf corporate headquarters building, originally designed by Frank Gehry, into a mixed-use retail and office building.
The steel-framed building opened in 1974 as the corporate headquarters of the Rouse Company. One of Gehry’s earliest works, the iconic while stucco building featured wood trellis-covered terraces with views of nearby Lake Kittamaqundi in the heart of Columbia.
The extensive $12 million adaptive reuse renovation involved creative structural design, including strengthening the existing structure by adding new trusses and encasing columns in cement, and repairing the building’s distinctive stucco cladding and wood trellises. Nearly the entire second floor was removed to create a taller interior space, and new stair and elevator towers and a two-bay truck dock were added. The design maximized efficiency in materials and methods, creating a flexible, open, and modular design that accommodates the primary tenant. The collaborative team used BIM to identify and resolve issues during the design process and streamline construction.
A Whole Foods Market anchors the new mixed-use development. The market and a community wellness center on the ground level are topped with office suites on the upper floor. The project is part of redevelopment efforts transforming downtown Columbia.
Keast & Hood provided structural engineering design services for adaptive reuse of a 112,000-sf corporate headquarters building, originally designed by Frank Gehry, into a mixed-use retail and office building.
The steel-framed building opened in 1974 as the corporate headquarters of the Rouse Company. One of Gehry’s earliest works, the iconic while stucco building featured wood trellis-covered terraces with views of nearby Lake Kittamaqundi in the heart of Columbia.
The extensive $12 million adaptive reuse renovation involved creative structural design, including strengthening the existing structure by adding new trusses and encasing columns in cement, and repairing the building’s distinctive stucco cladding and wood trellises. Nearly the entire second floor was removed to create a taller interior space, and new stair and elevator towers and a two-bay truck dock were added. The design maximized efficiency in materials and methods, creating a flexible, open, and modular design that accommodates the primary tenant. The collaborative team used BIM to identify and resolve issues during the design process and streamline construction.
A Whole Foods Market anchors the new mixed-use development. The market and a community wellness center on the ground level are topped with office suites on the upper floor. The project is part of redevelopment efforts transforming downtown Columbia.
CLIENT: Cho Benn Holback + Associates, Inc.
LOCATION: Columbia, MD
TYPE: Commercial, SERVICES: Adaptive Reuse, BIM, Renovation, MATERIALS: Concrete, Steel, Wood, SUSTAINABILITY: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Completed project photography © Patrick Ross
