This hybrid fitness and parking structure for a growing corporate financial campus celebrates a unified aesthetic and a contemporary materials palette of wood, steel, and glass. Sustainability, connectivity, and transparency are key design goals; and, this parking and wellness facility embodies all three. The south side of the building provides 600 spaces of parking and connections to the surrounding community, while the linear bar to the north of the building connects with the pedestrian-oriented campus with expansive views to the natural site.
The design rethinks the paradigm of the traditional office parking garage and how it relates to its campus environment. The fitness component of the program laminates a usable, active façade on the parking structure and provides an attractive visual buffer from the adjacent campus buildings. The language of the structure on the exterior and interior is a direct connection to the verticality of the site’s longleaf pine trees.
In keeping with the client’s commitment to providing world-class workspaces for its employees, the 18,000 SF fitness space features yoga, group, and cardio studios; fitness equipment; a clinic space operated by a local healthcare partner; rooftop deck; and outdoor exercise spaces in an expansive, open environment. The exterior formal language responds to the program with a grand entrance and a massing which is broken down for the studios, clinic, and rooftop deck, culminating in the rhythmic nature of the main workout zone. Rooftop solar panels help to power the building and support campus sustainability initiatives, while EV charging stations encourage a more sustainable commute.
The garage occupies a prominent spot at the main point of entry to the campus; however, it seems to disappear into its indigenous old-growth pine habitat with precast aggregate materials custom selected and blended to resemble pine park. The site layout preserved as many trees as possible to further integrate building and site.
Live Oak Bank FitPark
Category
Design Awards > New Construction/Substantial Renovation > New Construction/Substantial Renovation over 15,000SF
Description
This hybrid fitness and parking facility rethinks the paradigm of the traditional corporate parking garage, adding usable space and an important wellness feature to the design. The building integrates with the existing campus as well as the pristine coastal landscape, and the inviting fitness space features natural light and views from a linear bar that mediates between functional parking areas and the pedestrian-oriented campus.