As a telecommunications company, T-Mobile US knows the power of strong connections. The team renovating its Bellevue, Wash., headquarters paid special attention to connecting multiple buildings throughout the campus, which spans more than 1 million sq ft of office space. The project connected the four buildings via three bridges, including a 185-ft bridge between Building 2 and Building 3. To accommodate the bridge’s 35-degree sloped site and the area’s seismic zones, the design team chose a free-span connector. The three bridges aren’t simply walkways or paths—they have become new places to gather with meeting spaces located within two of the bridges.

During the remodel, many employees still worked in the office, so the team completed the project in phases. While the COVID-19 pandemic presented a challenge, the minimal number of people on campus allowed for faster progress. Flexibility was key; the team worked through two different ownerships of the site, two senior leadership teams, five distinct pieces of property and the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint. 

The interior design emphasized not only T-Mobile’s signature pink color but also craftsmanship features such as MEP ductwork and raw cast-in-place concrete. New cores through existing concrete still bear the marks of ferrule scanning that identified long encapsulated and forgotten reinforcing, sealed into the polished concrete.