By blending urbanism with a living landscape, the 110,000-square-foot CENTRA at Metropark offers a new paradigm for the suburban office experience. Designed by New York City-based Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, the project consisted of renovating a five-story office building located on 19 acres in Iselin, N.J.
During the economic downturn, the developer, The Hampshire Cos., saw an opportunity to get ahead of the curve by refurbishing an underutilized, but well located five-story property, says KPF Managing Principal Lloyd Sigal. “We were commissioned for the project at the start of the financial crisis, so we were faced with the challenge of producing high-quality, impactful architecture within an especially tight budget. But with a visionary client, an exceptional contractor, and a skilled team of engineers and consultants, we were able to create a building that is visually striking and functionally efficient.”
In lieu of tearing down the existing structure, KPF’s new design salvaged and recycled its valuable components. While the existing exterior wall was removed, the steel structure was kept and reinforced, and a new high-performance glass façade was added.
By utilizing the existing structure, the project adds value by expanding the total area of leasable Class A office space. Extending the building’s top floor added 10,000 square feet, and by adding vision glass and light wells to the previously unoccupied basement, 15,000 square feet of day-lit office space and tenant amenities became available.
Developed in collaboration with DeSimone Consulting Engineers, New York City, the building’s unique structural design utilizes an asymmetrical tree-column and truss to support the fourth floor extension, providing a signature feature for the project. The ground-level grand entry plaza is showered with natural daylight by carving a rectangular hole in the center of the suspended fourth floor. Further animating the environment, the surrounding pyramidal landscape forms create a dynamic visual foreground for this next generation suburban office building.
“At center stage, the powerful iconic column lifts the new addition 35 feet into the air, creating a grand canopy over the entry plaza,” says Hugh Trumbull, KPF director and senior designer. “It is in this new urban place, where people meet and greet one another, that nature is most present. The building frames and reframes the landscape; its skin captures the lush green environment and reflects natural light at every turn.”
Targeted for LEED Platinum certification, CENTRA is the first building and ultimately the gateway, for a larger planned corporate campus. The new suburban office paradigm epitomizes a user-friendly approach with a design based on an urban/suburban campus aesthetic. As buildings are added, the landscape promenades, urban rooms and closely spaced architecture will foster a strong sense of community and place, encouraging social interaction, and providing a healthier and more sustainable environment.
CENTRA at Metropark, Iselin, N.J.
Award: AIA New Jersey Chapter Honor Award
Developer: The Hampshire Cos., Morristown, N.J.
Architect: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, New York City
Contractor: Tishman Construction, New York City
Structural engineer: DeSimone Consulting Engineers, New York City
MEP/FP engineer: AMA Consulting Engineers, New York City
Curtainwall subcontractor: APG International, Glassboro, N.J.
Structural steel fabricator/erector: The Berlin Steel Construction Co., Kensington, Conn.
Curtainwall glass: Viracon, Owatonna, Minn., www.viracon.com
Metal decking: CMC Steel, Irving, Texas, www.cmc.com