The design of the project first and foremost responded to the client’s desire to improve office culture. By carving out a new atrium in the center of the main office building and adding an elegant, generous staircase, staff was drawn to use more active circulation spaces, increasing impromptu conversations and interaction. This move also drastically increased the natural lighting and ventilation reaching each floor, and together with the addition of a large communal rooftop terrace and garden, the design has helped improve the health and happiness of employees, and the connectivity and comradery among them.

The transformation of the two structures, now connected by an interior bridge across a public thoroughfare, included several bespoke features and material investigations. Most visible among them was the development of a new modular, slumped glass panel system used on the facade. The customized pattern within each glass panels selectively filters views, provides privacy and light based on site conditions and the user’s needs. Although there are only eight unique patterns, the panels are configured such that the overall design does not repeat itself across the facade.

Private equity firms are not often associated with design innovation, but at the Gores Group Headquarters, it was used to elevate the operations and branding of the company. The new headquarters conveys a pride of place and embodies the symbiosis of work and space.

Courtesy of Belzberg Architects

• Architects

  Belzberg Architects

• Location

  Beverly Hills, CA, United States

• Category

  Institutional Buildings

• Lead Architects

  Hagy Belzberg (Principal), Cory Taylor (Project Architect), Kris Leese (Project Manager), Ashley Coon, Elizabeth Lorenz

• Area

  13500.0 ft2

• Project Year

  2014

• Photographs

  Bruce Damonte, Benny Chan/Fotoworks