| July 7, 2010 KSS Architects Completes New Headquarters for The Children's Place PRINCETON--KSS Architects faced the test of time for their recent fit-out of a new 140,000 square-foot corporate headquarters for The Children's Place, the national retailer of children's clothing and merchandise. The Children's Place wanted to relocate and consolidate their New Jersey offices to three floors at 500 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, an 11-story building located in an active mixed-use office and retail development. Like many companies these days, TCP wanted to consolidate multiple office locations into one site to improve their efficiency, said KSS principal and director of interior design Sheila Nall, ASID, LEED AP. "Consolidation can help firms reduce redundancies, increase work productivity, and reduce lease costs," Nall said. For their office fit-out, TCP had an aggressive schedule they wanted to meet. "It was February 2009 and The Children's Place told us they wanted to begin the phased move-in by October with completion by the beginning of 2010," Nall said. KSS took on the challenge enthusiastically. In less than a year, they guided the project team, which included general contractor River Drive Construction and MEP engineer The Rock Brook Consulting Group, from space planning and programming to design and construction. The new headquarters integrates open work areas with individual offices for executives, designers and administrative staff members to collaborate together. The space also features two full-scale mock stores for designers and marketing staff to experiment with product displays and to train staff to ensure stores across the country maintained a consistent brand image. Formerly occupied by multiple tenants, the three-story space had to be gutted completely. By continuously planning ahead and staying on top of any issues that arose in the field, KSS kept the project moving forward from day one. "During construction, we committed our project manager, Tami Pegos, to one to two site visits per week so she could answer questions on the spot and provide real-time feedback on design and planning issues," Nall said. Field conditions often arise that will require coordination and adjustments to the design. KSS' frequent visits to the site were integral to the project's success and expediency, said Pegos. "On a fast-tracked project such as this, making a decision quickly is critical to keeping the project moving," Pegos said. Because of her frequent site visits, Pegos eliminated the lag time between discovering and resolving unexpected issues. Her accessibility to the contractors and client kept the lines of communication between the design and engineering professionals open, which was also vital to the project's success, she said. "For example, a conflict occurred between the location of mechanical elements--piping and large ductwork--and the layout of the light fixtures and ceiling 'clouds' in the cafeteria," Pegos said. "Because I was on site when the conflict was discovered, I could direct the installers to keep them moving forward while assuring everyone the design intent was maintained." With their experience in renovation and construction and local expertise, KSS also knew how to streamline the township's review, permitting and approvals process by submitting clear and detailed documents and project phasing. The Children's Place headquarters integrates 535 individual workstations and 32 private offices with strategically located open collaborative spaces. KSS fulfilled The Children's Place's need for more meeting space by designing 17 formal conference rooms, 20 informal meeting rooms, a boardroom and training rooms. A full-scale data center occupies of the top floor of the three-story space. KSS selected finish materials that create a corporate yet playful work environment that strategically features TCP's four signature colors--pink, blue, green and purple--as accents. In the design studios, carpet tiles in the eye-catching hues enliven the space and distinguish the different groups in an otherwise large and overwhelming space. Vivid purple and pink feature walls make a simple yet bold statement in the main cafeteria. A cafe located between the two mock stores simulates a "mall-like" atmosphere that allows the design and merchandising groups to try out product displays, showcase current products to visitors and hold impromptu meetings. The project incorporates several sustainable finish materials, including the reuse of available materials. The reception area, main corridors and cafeteria have about 4,500 sf of porcelain floor tiles that came from existing stock that was previously used in TCP's retail stores. The wood flooring in the cafe between the two mock stores was also surplus material from previous stores. Daylighting filters inside through perimeter windows to open work areas, design studios and collaborative areas, augmenting the project's energy-efficient fluorescent lighting. KSS also balanced TCP designers' need for extensive storage with their need for pin-up and layout space by designing versatile and efficient storage units that integrate interchangeable racks and shelving, tackable panels and spacious work surfaces for designing and layout. The project began in February 2009 and was completed in January 2010. |
| May 17, 2010 New Public Media Commons by KSS Architects in the Spotlight for Annual WHYY President's Dinner PHILADELPHIA--The newly constructed 8,300-square-feet Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons at WHYY will welcome 300 business and political leaders on Mon., May 17, for WHYY's ninth annual President's Dinner. The dinner, in which WHYY will honor NPR broadcaster Carl Kasell with its Lifelong Learning Award, will be the first formal event held in the state-of-the-art education facility designed by KSS Architects. The Hamilton Public Media Commons broke ground just one year ago. The new facility, which will have an official opening ceremony later this year, will significantly enhance and expand the nationally-acclaimed public media organization's educational, studio and digital production capabilities. The project also renovated 5,100 sf of the WHYY's existing Technology Center. "The Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons will provide an environment to teach, coach, and inspire children, teens, adults and other community partners to become participants in the media creation process as a way to enhance their own community needs," said WHYY President and CEO William J. Marrazzo. The President's Dinner will be held in the Hamilton Public Media Commons' new high-tech Lincoln Financial Digital Education Studio, which will be WHYY's largest studio facility with 3,200 sf of studio space and an additional 1,500 sf of support spaces. KSS designed the new studio to be not only an advanced production and recording space, but also a versatile multipurpose room, said David Zaiser, AIA, a partner at KSS Architects. "We designed the studio to highlight the specialized mission of the Public Media Commons and to still blend with the existing WHYY Technology Center," Zaiser said. The studio can accommodate myriad event types including a digital classroom and lecture hall for educating students and community members; a town hall forum with seating around a raised platform stage; and dinner and fundraising events with stations for food access and catering functions. The studio also features a 16-ft-by-9-ft high-definition rear project wall and a versatile pipe grid that accommodates flexible lighting, loudspeakers and flat panel displays in support of the many room functions. One of the most exciting features of the Hamilton Public Media Commons is also the most visible. On the building's prominent west facade on 7th Street, 144 state-of-the-art LED display panels cover the 25-feet high by 68-feet long exterior wall. The bright, translucent white screens, which also function as a rain screen, can be programmed to work individually or in unison to project colorful, dynamic lighting displays that span the entire building facade. The Hamilton Public Media Commons at WHYY will become the place for students and community members to learn how to share ideas and stories through digital video, audio and new media. Designed to be part classroom, part performance and production space and, most importantly, a community connectivity center, the lab will foster greater communication between individuals and their communities through the power of digital media. |
| April 27, 2010 Warch Campus Center Wins National and Regional Design Awards PRINCETON, N.J.--The Richard and Margot Warch Campus Center at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis., has won many national, regional and sustainable design honors for KSS Architects in Princeton, N.J., and associate architect Uihlein-Wilson Architects in Milwaukee. In March, the Association of College Unions International (ACUI) awarded the Warch Center its 2010 Facility Design Award of Excellence. The national award recognizes student-centered buildings that support the campus community and student learning. "It was an incredible honor when ACUI recognized our project," said KSS partner Pamela Rew, AIA. "The submission required both the designer's and user's perspectives, and we were thrilled to re-engage with a client we consider a great friend. It was particularly rewarding to have the university accept the award with us. The award is about more than design: It shows us that our client loves their building." Rew and Gregory Griffin, Lawrence University's campus center director, accepted the award in New York City at ACUI's annual conference. Most recently, the Warch Campus Center was named the 2009 Best in Show winner at The Daily Reporter and Wisconsin Builder magazine's annual Top Projects awards event. A panel of independent judges selected Warch Campus Center out of a group of 31 Top Projects honorees to receive the major award of the night, citing the project's success on a challenging site, its significance to the community, and any advancement it provided to the state construction industry. Representatives from general contractor The Boldt Company, Uihlein-Wilson and Lawrence University accepted the award. Other organizations have taken notice of the campus center's design and positive impact in community. Last fall, Appleton Downtown, Inc., presented Lawrence University a 2010 Dreamers and Doers Award, which recognizes a business, group or individual that has "significantly enhanced, for years to come, the physical and/or economic landscape of the downtown." Wisconsin Ready Mixed Concrete Association also honored the campus center with a Concrete Design Award. In November, the U.S. Green Building Council awarded Warch Campus Center LEED Gold certification. Warch Campus Center is the first higher education building in the state of Wisconsin to achieve the LEED Gold, the second highest level of certification in USGBC's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system. The building features efficient mechanical and plumbing systems, a partially vegetated "green" roof system, wood certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council and a formaldehyde-free interior materials to ensure good indoor air quality. During construction, the contractor recycled more than 96 percent--7 million pounds--of construction waste and more than 20% of the building construction materials were extracted regionally. The campus center is the first completed LEED Gold project for KSS and Uihlein-Wilson. KSS has other projects in construction that are pursuing LEED certification, including a new campus center for the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, which will also strive for LEED Gold. Warch Campus Center has become a hub of student activity and a living room for the university community. The building features a coffee shop, corner store, 134-seat cinema, book store, two dining areas, outdoor decks and patios, offices for faculty and student organizations, art gallery and a sprung dance floor in an open multipurpose space that has hosted many university events and concerts. As part of the university's initiative to strengthen the relationship between the campus and community members, Warch Campus Center also welcomes the residents of the Appleton and offers 12 venues accommodating up to 500 guests for residents and business to rent for events. KSS joined the project team in 2005. Construction began in May 2007 and the project was completed last fall. Photo credits: Lawrence at Dusk: Jeff Kernen, courtesy Lawrence University Lawrence Interior: Doug Snower Lawrence in Evening: Image Studios |
