When Spartan Surfaces, a flooring dealer and distributor, bought an old building in Bel Air for a new warehouse and headquarters, they engaged a full design team: Frederick Ward for architecture, J Vinton Schafer & Sons for construction management, Telegent Engineering Inc for engineering disciplines, and Contract Environments for interiors. Key members from each team met with Spartan representatives weekly during the design phase as the project was immediately on an accelerated timeline with less than a year from design development to the anticipated move-in date. In addition to the accelerated timeline, the existing building was a tricky mixture of multiple additions; containing several floor level changes, various architectural styles and mixed materials. A baseline challenge was to join the disparate additions and make the building more cohesive.
Spartan Surfaces directed the effort with a collection of images that defined the space they wanted: contemporary, open and flexible with a large showpiece break room/conference area where both meetings with the entire sales team and entertaining could take place. The design team worked through the challenges of making the space cohesive and open by creating a curved “Main Street” from the front to back of the building with all major meeting spaces located along this vein. Frederick Ward designed a new external facade and a roof monitor in the reception to bring in additional light. Another challenge was making the “butt end” of the building – a workroom with darkroom area and windows overlooking the warehouse – a comfortable space for the customer service work area.
Interior finishes highlighted not only the company’s branded bright green, but also took full advantage of the flooring (and wall tile) provided by the range of the product lines the company represents. Flooring was chosen to highlight the product offerings. Additional teal, yellow and gray accent colors were brought in to complement the “Spartan Green” and provide balance.
