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Shepley Bulfinch Phoenix office and design studio
Shepley Bulfinch Phoenix office and design studio
Phoenix, AZ, United States
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Shepley Bulfinch Phoenix office and design studio
Phoenix, AZ, United States
The Phoenix Financial Center was designed by Peruvian-born architect W.A. Sarmiento and completed in 1964, and today is one of the city’s most prominent mid-century buildings. Shepley Bulfinch's restoration and adaptive reuse of the Center’s South Rotunda for the firm's new design studio celebrates an important architectural landmark and advances the city’s vision for the revival of Phoenix’s Midtown Central Avenue corridor.
A former bank branch, the Rotunda was a vacant gem in Midtown, an area facing development pressures and characterized by being “in between” the city’s downtown and subsequent outward growth.
The design approach creates a modern space that respects the existing structure, reintroducing lost elements in ways that distinguish old from new. In doing so, the studio balances the restoration of the original intent of Sarmiento’s design and a modern interpretation of the space for contemporary use. The open ground floor has been re-envisioned as Shepley Bulfinch's architectural studio, while the former bank vault provides gallery space. The mezzanine’s private offices are now collaboration rooms and two private offices were combined to create a larger staff break room. Throughout the rotunda, existing light fixtures were retained and refitted with high-efficiency LED lighting (LPD 1 watt/SF).
Iconic elements of the original design, many of which had been lost or badly altered, are core features of the space. Contemporary materials, including rolled steel and white oak, are used to provide a modern interpretation of these mid-century forms:
• The floating surfboard stair’s brass trim was refinished and its treads resurfaced with cork
• The signature chandelier “card” ceiling was restored, its fluorescent lighting replaced by LEDs, creating a patterned array of diffused light
• The bank vault, neglected and used as a server room by previous tenants, was restored
• The Carrera marble elevator on the elevator shaft was fully re-exposed after being hidden for years
• The distinctive ‘money tunnel’, which originally connected rotunda and tower, was restored
• The jewel-toned starburst skylight was cleaned and restored and the signature wall clocks were repaired and reinstalled
• A prominent planter, originally conceived with vertical brass bars on one side and curvilinear desks on the other, was reimagined to define the entry space.
Through research, the team discovered that Sarmiento had designed the complex as a response to the desert climate, incorporating various strategies to mitigate the harsh sun and heat. This included a screen element for shade within the rotunda buildings’ parabolic arches. Although this shading device was not executed when the project was originally completed, the design team re-expressed Sarmiento’s intent by retrofitting screens of exterior shade fabric that fit the unique shape of the south rotunda’s arches.
The interior renovation was complemented by a second objective: activating the life of the city around it. The interest in connecting with the community was a driving force behind the location of the new office along Phoenix’s light rail and transit-oriented development corridor. Shepley Bulfinch's design team developed the mezzanine lounge area with a second life as a community ‘living room’ for local events. The venue has already proved popular for community events for Reinvent Phoenix; the Phoenix Community Alliance; and others.
A former bank branch, the Rotunda was a vacant gem in Midtown, an area facing development pressures and characterized by being “in between” the city’s downtown and subsequent outward growth.
The design approach creates a modern space that respects the existing structure, reintroducing lost elements in ways that distinguish old from new. In doing so, the studio balances the restoration of the original intent of Sarmiento’s design and a modern interpretation of the space for contemporary use. The open ground floor has been re-envisioned as Shepley Bulfinch's architectural studio, while the former bank vault provides gallery space. The mezzanine’s private offices are now collaboration rooms and two private offices were combined to create a larger staff break room. Throughout the rotunda, existing light fixtures were retained and refitted with high-efficiency LED lighting (LPD 1 watt/SF).
Iconic elements of the original design, many of which had been lost or badly altered, are core features of the space. Contemporary materials, including rolled steel and white oak, are used to provide a modern interpretation of these mid-century forms:
• The floating surfboard stair’s brass trim was refinished and its treads resurfaced with cork
• The signature chandelier “card” ceiling was restored, its fluorescent lighting replaced by LEDs, creating a patterned array of diffused light
• The bank vault, neglected and used as a server room by previous tenants, was restored
• The Carrera marble elevator on the elevator shaft was fully re-exposed after being hidden for years
• The distinctive ‘money tunnel’, which originally connected rotunda and tower, was restored
• The jewel-toned starburst skylight was cleaned and restored and the signature wall clocks were repaired and reinstalled
• A prominent planter, originally conceived with vertical brass bars on one side and curvilinear desks on the other, was reimagined to define the entry space.
Through research, the team discovered that Sarmiento had designed the complex as a response to the desert climate, incorporating various strategies to mitigate the harsh sun and heat. This included a screen element for shade within the rotunda buildings’ parabolic arches. Although this shading device was not executed when the project was originally completed, the design team re-expressed Sarmiento’s intent by retrofitting screens of exterior shade fabric that fit the unique shape of the south rotunda’s arches.
The interior renovation was complemented by a second objective: activating the life of the city around it. The interest in connecting with the community was a driving force behind the location of the new office along Phoenix’s light rail and transit-oriented development corridor. Shepley Bulfinch's design team developed the mezzanine lounge area with a second life as a community ‘living room’ for local events. The venue has already proved popular for community events for Reinvent Phoenix; the Phoenix Community Alliance; and others.
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