The project team converted a recently vacated 630,000-sq-ft campus into a new corporate headquarters that provides employees much needed space to collaborate, innovate and provide patient-first medicines. The existing facility was comprised of three towers connected by one continuous ground floor. The team determined it would be safer and more efficient to divide the project into sections and run them with separate teams. This prevented confusion between areas and saved time because superintendents didn’t have to travel between buildings.

During the 16-month project, designs were altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including reworking a café from buffet style to grab-and-go style. Activities like ordering coffee needed to be reconsidered to accommodate the needs of around 500 employees while remaining contact free. Restroom upgrades were also added near the end of the project. As a project with detailed and high-end finishes, each design pivot required the input of all involved trades to determine how to work around finished areas without compromising the new design.

To minimize unnecessary waste, the team determined how to seamlessly integrate existing conditions with the new design. For example, existing vertical wooden slats in the entry area were incorporated into the design of the main staircase. Because Horizon’s logo features four staggered vertical line shapes, this wooden element served as a way to integrate the logo onto a large canvas.