Atmosphere Tempe

As one of the only cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area that is landlocked by neighboring municipalities, Tempe has avoided the region’s characteristic sprawl and has instead pursued growth by enthusiastically embracing increasing density and taller developments.

The building’s base contributes to the energetic downtown environment with nearly fully glazed elevations along the public streets and a canopy that lends protective shade in the 110-degree summers.  The mid-level parking decks are screened with a visually cooling blend of blues and silvers.  Likewise, the building’s external color palette is drawn from a range of lighter grays and off-whites, not so bright as to be reflective, but light enough to effectively deal with intense solar radiation.  Wood and metal provide accents at areas of close pedestrian contact.  As a contributing member of the growing Tempe skyline, the building is capped by a lighted trellis/cornice feature.

Leasing, amenities, and 5,000 s.f. of retail space occupy the first floor, with 5-levels of parking garage above.  Levels 6-19 are apartment floors with 252 units, arranged in an H-Shape plan configuration, with courtyards facing east and west.  These 6th floor courtyards offer intimate outdoor spaces for residents.  A variety of amenities occur at the 20th floor, including a pool, hot tub, covered terraces, and an indoor lounge and fitness area.  All of these spaces are afforded sweeping vistas of the city beyond, most notably a great view of Hayden Butte, a 330’ tall volcanic uplift and popular hiking destination, a few blocks to the north.  Hayden Butte is home to 1,000 year old petroglyphs, along with the signature 60’ tall letter “A” belonging to the University.

Terre Haute Convention Center

The entry, a two-story glass volume, is on axis with the intersection of Wabash and 8th Street. This provides a dramatic welcoming gesture to the city, and introduces into Terre Haute a crisp and elegant facade befitting a prominent civic gathering space. This glass volume is shaded with a generous overhead cornice and with horizontal sun-shade devices at its southern exposure. This is a sustainable design feature allowing for an abundance of natural daylighting, reducing the electric lighting demand, and providing a means of blocking the harshest sun angles thereby moderating the mechanical cooling requirements.

The length of primary street façade consists of large glazed openings looking into the Convention Center’s active pre-function spaces. This transparency allows the energy and activity inside the Convention Center to support and contribute to the downtown Terre Haute streetscape. Both this pre-function space, and the building’s primary circulation artery are essentially indoor extensions of the downtown pedestrian pathways. These openings are framed by a regular spacing of stone columns, breaking the building’s scale down into an appropriate module for the local urban context.

The remainder of the building is trimmed with banded limestone and concrete for a durable, low-maintenance, and regionally sensitive exterior. The building is organized around a central circulation street that provides access to the pre-function spaces and the main ballroom. Up to 900 guests can be seated and served full course meals prepared in the facility’s state of the art kitchen. Separate back-of-house circulation provides food and server access to the main room without passing through the public spaces. Access is provided to permit the introduction of large items into the ballroom allowing trade shows to take advantage of the facility. The main room can be subdivided in to as many as six large meeting rooms for hosting smaller events. Acoustics was a key design criterion necessitating the use of high performance operable partitions so that multiple events can be hosted concurrently without acoustic interference. This feature provides the operator maximum booking flexibility. Breakout rooms are provided on the opposite side of the main circulation corridor. A two-story atrium provides visual access to more breakout areas located on the second floor. Full food service can be provided on the upper level as events may require.

Flexibility was a key design requirement allowing the facility to host meetings with up to 2000 participants or as few as 10 or 12 guests. Infrastructure is provided to allow the main room to host trade shows. State of the art IT infrastructure permits digital wireless internet access to all rooms and potential event configurations. A DAS systems make sure guests will have cell phone access at all times no matter how large an event is being hosted.

The Olivia on Main

The Olivia on Main Luxury Residence & Shoppes is a five-story, mixed use development that includes 204, 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, 17,000 square feet of retail/restaurant space on the ground floor, 57 covered parking spaces, an indoor amenities center, and an elevated second floor pool and deck with an indoor aqua lounge.

Upon arrival to the amenity center and leasing offices, visitors and residents are welcomed by an open concept with views to multiple engagement spaces. The design team planned the amenity center to allow residents and visitors to choose their level of social interaction within the space. On axis with the entry is a beautiful stone island and hospitality center. Intentionally located as the heart of the space, much like today’s residential kitchens, it serves as an informal gathering space, a hospitality space, and meeting location. From this central location residents and visitors may choose to further explore the space. Upon exploration, they will find a private movie room, fitness center, conference space, business center, gaming lounge, and finally a private library lounge.

The interior design of the apartment and amenity center sought to balance a luxury feel with a budget that was consistent with area development. Throughout the space touches of casual luxury are noted in unique lighting elements, natural stone materials, and a clever mix of metal finishes. The neutral foundation for the palette elevates these features allowing them to make a lasting impact on visitors and residents alike.

JW Marriott

The 34-story crescent-shaped tower fronts the city but pivots on the site, reinforcing the downtown grid to the east while acknowledging the museum campus gardens and White River to the west and north. The complex has a low-rise masonry and limestone podium that wraps the west and south façades and creates a city-scaled plinth that helps moderate the overall scale of the structure. The dramatic tower interlocks with the podium and presents itself in full height along the east and north façades, and a two-story glass canopy defines the main entrance on West Street.

Within the podium there is ballroom and meeting space made up of 23,000 square feet of exhibition space, a 20,670 square foot junior ballroom and a 40,500 square foot grand ballroom, which is one of the largest Marriott ballrooms in the world.  The 1,005-key complex also has a 1,000 car, three-level, below grade parking structure and a covered overhead walkway to the Indiana Convention Center, making it the perfect destination for the adjacent convention center, museums, ballpark, and business district. This project was completed in collaboration with HOK and was the largest JW in the world at the time of completion.

The Arbuckle

The Arbuckle mixed-use urban living project was one of the key initiatives in the Town of Brownsburg’s goal to transform the Arbuckle park area of downtown into a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly, economic center with many commercial, retail, and residential options for residents.

Designed to fit sensitively into the fabric of Brownsburg’s historic downtown, the architecture of the Arbuckle is about placemaking and creating resort-style urban living options for Brownsburg. The human-scale façades are carefully detailed with warm tones of high quality brick, cast stone lintels, and traditional cornices.

The retail storefronts work together with the streetscape design to create an upscale, walkable, live-work-play destination in the heart of Brownsburg. The building is designed to completely conceal the ample parking and to create a beautifully landscaped interior courtyard with numerous amenities.

The 200+ residences include studio, one and two bedroom luxury apartments.

310 at Nulu

310 at Nulu offers urban style studio apartments in the trendy East Market District of Louisville and allows for an easy commute to the University of Louisville.

The complex is comprised of two sites and three, 4-story buildings. The west site, located on the west side of Hancock Street, includes two, 4-story buildings with 139 units and 128 surface parking spaces. The east site, located on the east side of Hancock Street, has one, 4-story building with 27 parking spaces on the first level of the building.

The development features amenities such as a 24-hour media lounge and fitness center, an underground parking garage, controlled building access, on-site leasing office, and Energy Star certified appliances.

River North at Keystone

The River North office building is strategically located on the scenic 25-acre lake of Keystone at the Crossing. The east face of the building embraces the morning sunrise and capitalizes on serene water views. Simple forms frame the glass openings and pay respect to the nearby existing architecture. The multi-tenant building further leverages the site by incorporating small retreat terraces overlooking the lake and centrally positioning the vertical circulation adjacent to the large two-story gathering hub, while enhanced exterior spaces lure tenants to the outdoors to work, relax and play.

Upon entering the 116,836 square foot, 5-story building, visitors are immediately drawn to the pass-through views to the lake. The interior design is intentionally subtle, but sophisticated. This design philosophy encourages the eye to continue outward to reinforce the connection to nature. Biophilic patterns can be found throughout the interior design, which is a unique concept for a multi-tenant development. The views to the water and connection to nature were leveraged, and to further the biophilic story the design team incorporated biomorphic patterns within the interior wood cladding, utilized simple-natural materials, and honed in on the human desire for an identifiable but safe risk situation at the glass railing overlook. The natural beauty of the walnut wood is observed from the main floor on the underside of the stairs and is intended to symbolize the complexity and order found in nature.

The River North office building at its core incorporates a simplistic design approach. However, digging deeper, the design is extremely complex and unique to the market. The design provides a piece of serenity within a continually evolving and very desirable area of Indianapolis. Visitors and tenants enjoy, within walking distance, many of the City’s most highly regarded restaurants and retail shops. This building is part of a holistic redevelopment of Keystone at the Crossing, including a five-story, 198-unit apartment building and parking garage, and a 129-room Hampton Inn & Suites Hotel.

Axis

The building provides easy and efficient access to all home, work, and leisure destinations and consists of retail space, a 47,000 square foot grocery store on the first floor, and 325 luxury residential units wrapped around a 435 space parking structure.

CSO’s designers combined functionality with beauty and form through the use of architectural mesh on the exterior of the parking garage. The transparency of the mesh acts as a natural ventilation system, which reduces the need for the need for costly HVAC systems. The use of mesh results in an abundance of natural light and air flow through the garage, permitting car emissions to be dispersed outside and improving the air quality in the space.

Each apartment portrays a modern design and reflects an updated interior that permeates the living space with the ultimate in luxury. Units feature distinctively styled rooms and luxurious accommodations. The one- and two-bedroom units feature granite countertops, roman soaking tubs, and stainless steel appliances. Supported by fabulous amenities and unrivaled community features, Axis includes 37,000 square feet of combined interior and exterior play space, including a Sky Bar with city views, an Aqua Lounge, a heated resort-style pool, 24-hour state-of-the-art fitness center, and a Great Lawn open area with lounge areas, a garden, and a fire pit.

Artistry

The Artistry project revitalizes an area of downtown Indianapolis that had seemingly been forgotten. Phase 1 of the project provides an adaptive reuse solution to the former Bank One Operations Center structure by converting it to a 362,000 square foot mixed-use development, including four stories of apartments and amenity spaces over parking, office, and retail space at grade. This LEED for Homes Silver certified project defines a new gateway into the city and has served as a catalyst for development within the newly defined “Market East Cultural District. Phase 1 is considered to be the main building within a four-building mixed use development. The goals for Phase 1 were to design a building that would:

      • Serve as a gateway and catalyst for the revitalization of the Market East Cultural District.
      • Create a vibrant mixed-use development through the adaptive reuse of the former Bank One Operations Center.
      • Emphasize an urban industrial aesthetic through the physical reuse of the existing building structure.
      • Promote an urban apartment community that is enhanced by its dynamic outdoor living environment.

CSO went on to design Phase 2 of the project, which involved the addition of two buildings, the Mentor and Muse at Artistry, which provide additional living options to fit different types of lifestyles, including 354 square foot eco-suites for those who need minimal space.

Phase I of the project was particularly challenging due to the owner’s intent to build up from an existing structure. The configuration of the existing structure required that designers incorporate a number of potentially awkward column locations. Ultimately, this became a feature of the building design as the column placement dictated a wide array of residential unit variations and influenced the façade. By addressing these challenges with unique design solutions, the owner is able to offer tenants more layout options and the building boasts a more dynamic façade that brings new life to the streetscape. An open third floor pool and recreation deck provides dramatic views of the downtown area for all residents along with two interior courtyards featuring a fountain, vegetable garden, bocce court, and putting green.

Cummins Office Building

The building design focuses on sustainable features, including a highly detailed southern exposure curtain wall.  The articulated glass curtain wall features floor to ceiling windows which provides day-lighting and exterior views throughout.

Primarily planned for an open office workplace with internal offices, the upper floors have a central building core.  Glass enclosed conference rooms are located on the southeast and southwest corners with great views of the downtown square.  A flexible employee dining and conference center are located on the first floor southeast corner, with direct access to the adjacent Commons food court.

The primary emphasis for the open office workplace is natural light and expansive views out.  The southern façade daylighting is controlled with louvered sunscreen shading, shades, and photocell controlled perimeter lighting.  The western windows are shaded with vertical sun fins and occasional translucent glass.  The clear glass is insulated with low-e coating.  Energy-efficient lighting and mechanical systems were critical for lower operating costs.

Three years after the initial building was completed, a five-story addition was built adjacent to the existing building. The exterior façades were designed with varying heights in order to allow for a four-story atrium that joins the two buildings and a three-story front on the north side of the building to match the adjacent Commons building. The fourth floor of the addition features a corner terrace and a vegetated green roof. CSO collaborated with Koetter Kim Architects and Associates to design the original building and the addition.

The Avenue

The design for the Avenue includes three structures on one site. The main building parallels 10th Street and includes 21,000 square feet of retail space on the first floor.

Apartment amenities and community features include modern apartments fully equipped with black, stainless-steel appliances, walk-in closets and spacious patios and balconies; a fitness center; a saltwater swimming pool with an outdoor kitchen and grill; Internet café, media room, and business center with several study areas.

This 4-story, 76 unit, wood frame apartment building has a concrete and steel podium structure constructed between two buildings. The second building is a 4-story, 48 unit, wood frame apartment building with slab on grade construction. The third building is a 4-story wood frame building consisting of approximately 3,500 square feet of amenity space on the first floor and 6 units (3 flats, 3 townhomes) constructed within the three stories above the amenity space. Additionally, the Avenue has a 3-story, 260 space, on-site parking garage.

St. Joseph Medical Office Building

This project ensured that a network of medical offices are directly connected to the hospital at all levels to provide a better care experience for patients, visitors, and providers. The offices provide a wide range of medical services, from primary care and sports medicine, to imaging services, rehabilitation, and acute specialty care. 136 parking spaces are provided in a below grade parking structure. The project was designed using sustainable design principles and is certified LEED Gold.

The Langston

The Langston features 290 apartments in nine buildings and was the largest residential project built in Cleveland in over 30 years. With a prime location, the Langston captures the best student-focused amenities, providing easy access to campus, restaurants, shops, and nightlife. The Langston consists of multiple buildings for 1, 2, 3, and 4 bedroom apartments as well as retail and parking space.

The upscale, contemporary apartments are spacious, with open layouts and amenities such as modern kitchens with stainless steel and black appliances, walk-in closets, and private, attached bathrooms. Additionally, the apartment buildings have built-in study areas, an in-home laundry facility, private conference rooms, and a top-of-the-line fitness and training facility.

Building A is a four-story building with 10 units per floor and 40 total units. Building B is a four-story building with 14 housing units per floor for a total of 56 units. Building C is a five-story building with retail on the first floor and four stories of housing units above that are comprised of 11 units per floor for a total of 44 units. Buildings D, E, F, G, H, and I are four-story buildings with 25 housing units each.

Alpha

Named by the students of University of Alabama, this 696-bed, 263-unit student housing community offers fully furnished one, two, three, and four bedroom apartments. The project scope involved two sites located on the north and south sides of 13th Street East in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The buildings consist of a combination of 3-story (Type V) and 5 story (Type III) wood framed construction. The northern site includes a 3 level precast concrete parking structure and the southern site includes a single level cast-in-place concrete podium parking structure. The Alpha features a broad array of amenities including a 24-hour fitness center, leasing office, theater and gaming area, computer café, private study lounges, an expansive clubhouse, and garage parking. Outdoor amenities include a grilling area, fire pit, resort-style pool, and sundeck.