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Architects: Looney Ricks Kiss
- Area: 17000 ft²
- Year: 2015
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Photographs:Ken West Photography
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Manufacturers: 3form, Armstrong Ceilings, Carnegie, Daltile, Formica, Koroseal, Laminart, Mannington, Wilsonart
Text description provided by the architects. The design goal of the 85 Union renovation was to take an existing underwhelming building form, located on one of the most important iconic corners in downtown Memphis, and reveal with elegant clarity the underlying rhythm and structure of both the new building and its inhabitants.
The ground plane was opened to create a continuous floor to ceiling glazing that allows the building to lightly float on its base and puts the ground floor activity on display.
The upper form of existing brick curtainwall was peeled back and punched to reveal the primary structural frame – a cast-in-place column and beam system. The new openings allow light to flood the interior space of the advertising agency and also put their creativity on display for the city.
The interior plan for the upper floors is open with interior glass walls allowing light to filter through private offices or conference rooms into the new open, central two-story loft that connects the second and third floors of the space.