Microsoft Tampa Completed, Clients Delighted, Other MS Offices Jealous

AVRP recently completed a corporate interior for Microsoft in Tampa, Florida. The project is located on the 7th floor of Highwood’s Bay Properties in Tampa. It’s the Regional Sales Site occupying approximately 21,000 sf with a Customer Conferencing Center. The employee space and customer conference rooms have great bay views overlooking Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg and on towards Clear Water.

Materials used in the project are: hardwood flooring by Gammapar, carpet by Shaw, furniture by BIX and KI, and custom millwork and reception desk by AVRP. The project team included: Chris Veum (Principal), Erik Shearn (Project Manager), Randi Stellar (Interior Designer), and Diane Hyink (Presentation Graphics and 3D Modeling).

When the paint first started going on the walls someone mentioned that it looked a little “Willy Wonka”, but Randi advised the client to be patient and wait until everything was completed and the furniture installed; then see what people think. Now, among the letters of congratulations, they’re getting requests to transfer to that office because everyone loves the space so much.

Centerpoint Wins Merit Award for Best Professional Office Building

Though a speculative project, the developer wanted to approach the project differently by countering the other speculative buildings around it. Three things set this project apart from its neighbors:

Starting with the identity, the design utilizes an over-scaled trellis at the entry and the use of limestone and metal panel skin materials, setting the building apart in its neighborhood. The grade level is all glass storefront giving flexibility for tenants to have entry doors at any point and gives the building a floating effect by having the more solid materials on the upper levels.

Secondly, located on a corner lot, the landscape is layered in front of the building to avoid a sea of parking in front as well as a buffer from the street. Aside from the main entry trellis, a glass-enclosed stair highlights the other street elevation.

Thirdly is the environmental philosophy. Outside, low-e glass and the entry trellis serve to reduce building heat loads. Low water use planting is used throughout the site and placed to lower heat loads. Inside, materials include post-consumer, partially recycled carpet, plastic laminates, and wood panels. Compact fluorescent lighting is used throughout

Chris Veum served as Principal-in-Charge and Project Designer. Ralph Linder was Project Manager, Claudia Salazar served as Project Coordinator, and Michael Gildea was Project Architect. Chris Aeria also helped out on the project. Chris Veum and Randi Stellar designed the interiors. Hope Engineering was the structural engineer. Mechanical engineering was by McParlane and Associates. MPE Consulting did the electrical engineering. Partners Planning & Engineering were the civil engineers. Van Dyke Landscape Architects designed the landscape. And Reno Contracting did the construction.

Randi Holley Returns as Marketing Director

We are excited to announce the selection of our new Director of Marketing. Some of you may remember Randi Holley(above right) from a few years back. Randi started with AVRP as a Marketing Coordinator. During her departure from AVRP she has truly developed and honed her Marketing and Leadership skills. She comes to us from Southern California Soils & Testing as the Director of Marketing where she has held that position for the last five years. Prior to that she worked with Roel Construction. Randi is also the incoming President of SMPS (Society for Marketing Professional Services).

Randi officially started on June 18th, 2008 as our new Director of Marketing . She will work with Lauryn Adams, Marketing Assistant (above left), who deserves much credit for making the transition as smooth as possible. And a big thanks to Sandra Veum who graced us with her considerable skills as Temporary Director of Marketing since January of this year.

Smart Corner Wins Award

The Smart Corner project received the Grand Award for the Best Infill Redevelopment Project in the West. This included projects throughout the Western United States and the Pacific Rim.

Congratulations to the entire design team, including: Doug Austin, Pablo Collin, Eduardo Savigliano, Thomas Anielski, Rod MacPherson, Elsa Gaxiola, Armando Ramos, Aidee Arellano, Randi Stellar & Zane Ely.

Smart Corner is a landmark project in downtown San Diego, anchoring the Park to Bay Link and the C Street Corridor Master Plan. The project consists of 301 residential units in a 19-story tower, 90,000 sf of multi-tenant office space in a five-story building, 7,600 sf of street-oriented retail space, and 652 parking spaces (267 for office workers and 385 for residents). The city block that is now home to Smart Corner was once an unsightly jumble of uses, including a thrift store, barber college, tavern and run-down convenience store. The new development is spurring investment in other nearby properties, including two 40-story residential buildings within three blocks of Smart Corner.

Smart Corner is a unique redevelopment project in many ways:

It is a true mixed-use development, combining residential, office, and retail functions;

It is a model of transit-oriented development potential;

It is an outstanding example of public-private collaboration, including participation of CCDC (Centre City Development Corporation), SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments), MTS (Metropolitan Transit System), the San Diego Housing Commission, and a consortium of private investors and developers;

It provides much-needed workforce housing in the form of creative dwelling unit prototypes that maximize livability in limited space;

It is a catalyst for positive change in a blighted area of San Diego's downtown.

Bringing real meaning to the term “transit-oriented,” 360 feet of trolley tracks have been rerouted to diagonally bisect the site, between the office building and the residential tower. A new trolley station serves as a stop between the two buildings.

This trolley station is the second busiest in the system, attracting an average of 10,500 passengers on a weekday.

(photo via www.smartcorner.net)

“This is a smart growth landmark, and a great example of public and private partnerships at work,” said Gary Gallegos, SANDAG Executive Director, January 2007.

15th & Commercial Honored with Merit Award

June 9th, 2008 at the Neurosciences Institute the AIA San Diego Chapter held the 2008 AIA design Awards and the 15th and commercial project won a Merit award. The project received incredible comments from the jury members and other fellow architects.

Started in August 2006, 15th & Commercial is part of Father Joe's Villages. It's a mixed-use, 12-story building with three components that are designed to operate individually. Separate entrances and circulation systems are provided to ensure security. These uses are:

1. A day care facility primarily for the children of homeless families;

2. Transitional housing - a temporary living space that dignifies living arrangements in a dormitory setting, complemented by gathering, therapy, and communal facilities;

3. Affordable housing in the form of single room occupancy dwelling units that will provide a first form of permanent housing for homeless residents working to get back on their feet.

The project is currently in construction documents and in the City for plan check with a project completion date of June 2010.

Working on the project have been: David de Castro, Dave Stellar, Randi Stellar, John Muller, Kristin Shultz, Ben Anderson, Jian Hu, Tom Vorkoper, Rod McPherson, Tomasz Anielski, Doug Austin, and Randy Robbins.

“Lots of green materials are being incorporated into this building such as Trespa panels, Expo GX2 Stucco, with 10% post consumer recycled content, and green screen to name a few. We have lots of exterior terraces, super high efficiency glass, and top of the line mechanical systems. We are currently working with SDG&E Savings by Design and we have qualified for incentives. We're having a ⅛ scale model made and it's looking good. I'm very proud of this building, it'll be a really cool space.” ~ David de Castro

Welcome to AVRP's blog

Welcome to the AVRP blog, our online newsletter for updates about the people and the projects that have made this one of Southern California’s premier design firms.

Here you'll find information on the talented individuals who make all the amazing projects happen. We'll spotlight current staff members, welcome new folks, and bid affectionate farewells to those making changes in their careers.

We'll also include updates on our projects as they go from conception to groundbreaking to completion.

Eventually we hope to include informational articles as a resource for the architectural community.

We invite your comments: this internet/web stuff works best when it's interactive.