Warm palette and green spaces make for a welcoming office

Project: Asurion Gulch Hub at 1101 Church Street
Award: Gold, Workspace Interiors - Corporate Offices (Over 10,000 SQM), 2024
Location: Nashville, United States
Design Practice: HASTINGS Architecture
Client: Highwoods Properties

Unifying four campuses previously spread across the region, the new headquarters for IT company Asurion offers a dynamic, engaging, collaborative campus-like feel for over 2,500 employees. 

The 52,000 square metre LEED Gold Certified complex includes two mid-rise towers connected through a shared podium and sky bridges at the fifth and seventh floors along with a series of outdoor terraces providing views between the levels. 

The judges singled out the "clean and efficient layouts", the "warmth created by timber ceilings constructed in different configurations" and the "mix of pendant and spot lights". 

Within the building, the design offers teams and individuals choice and flexibility in a welcoming and approachable variety of settings for collaborative and focused work. Spaces range from offices and workstations to large communal gathering spaces, a food hall, micro-markets, coffee bars, meeting rooms, a games room, and fitness centre. It includes easy-to-find amenities and biophilic elements such as sheltered booths and ample planting and green walls.

The judges said: "The project succeeds in blending functionality with the company's core values. The incorporation of biophilic elements, ample natural light and green spaces will certainly enhance the employees' wellbeing. Plus, using a warm and inviting palette inspired by diverse cultures and natural materials adds a sense of familiarity and comfort, making the space feel lived-in and welcoming."

Design highlights

The diverse interiors palette takes inspiration from multiple cities, cultures and eras with a focus on warm natural materials such as real hardwood floors and bespoke solid wood ceiling elements that patina and feel comfortably lived-in over time. 

The design seeks to identify and remove points of friction in employees’ daily working lives. User-friendly features include a welcoming and approachable reception desk, clear and logical wayfinding and graphic systems, a smart parking system that directs employees to available spaces, and AV systems that work identically in nearly every conference room. 

Photo credit: Hall+Merrick+McCaughtery