Rooted in a bluff overlooking an active stone quarry, the existing 1970’s cast-in-place concrete structure was capped with a steeply pitched pyramid shaped roof that gave the impression of a Cold War era bunker rather than an office building. With the goals of modernizing the façade and allowing the building to serve as a gateway to the Walbec Group Campus, the concept for the design centered on a series of careful interventions that enhance the existing architecture.

Seeking to unify the existing buildings to develop a campus feel, the material palette for the renovation takes its queue from the neighboring Zenith Tech building. All of the new corrugated metal siding, natural stone veneer, and textured modular block retaining walls used for the renovation are direct matches. All surfaces of the existing painted cast-in-place concrete walls were sandblasted to expose the natural color of the aggregates and the existing standing seam roof was painted black. All of the exiting rotted wood louvers were removed and replaced in kind.

Lacking a definable entrance at the east facade, a section of the existing pyramid roof and riprap landscaping were removed to create a void in the façade that forms a new raised exterior terrace. The terrace is accessed from the interior of the building by a pair of new sliding glass doors and when weather permits, serve as outdoor office space. A natural stone veneer retaining wall and planter bed serve as buffers between the terrace and the adjacent parking lot. A new cedar and steel pergola along with a pair of knee height, sandblasted concrete walls extend out into the existing parking lot to greet those arriving to the building. Sections of the existing roof structure left exposed by the removal of the section of pyramid roof were clad in corrugated metal siding. An existing crumbling retaining wall was removed from the building’s south facade and replaced with a new retaining wall constructed of textured modular block and sandblasted concrete.

Echoing the design language of the east facade, a second cedar and steel pergola with a pair of knee height, sandblasted concrete walls were added to the west façade. A new sliding glass door was added to the existing conference room and accesses a new partially covered cedar deck. All sections of the existing building volume that protrude from the pyramid roof were re-clad with corrugated metal siding and replace rotted painted plywood siding. Along the building’s north facade an additional section of the pyramid roof was removed to allow for additional cedar louvers to be added.