Built in a suburban industrial park, the Lord Corporation World Headquarters is the partial realization of a master plan comprising sixty-seven acres. This three-story structure is the second building completed on campus and houses executive offices for an international company that develops and markets high-tech mechanical and chemical products. Responding to Lord Corporation's internal culture, the new headquarters building symbolizes the clean, unassuming reputation of the company and sets the standard for future architectural and landscape development on the campus.

The rectangular component of the building contains professional offices on the first two floors with senior executives occupying the third floor. The top floor features a large translucent skylight that distributes diffused natural light throughout the area. The regular geometry of the office component of the building is contrasted by the round lobby space and the cylindrical form which houses the 160 person training center auditorium.

The formal development of the south courtyard reinforces the geometry found in the plan. A thin canal with moving water leads to a circular still pond that terminates the axis. The formal planted areas are overlaid with a random pattern of larger trees that blend the man-made courtyard with the natural wooded areas beyond. This courtyard represents the first of what will eventually become a greenway system linking this building with future development on the site.

Photography: James West

JWest Productions.com