Built in 1968, the Boca Raton Innovation Campus (BRiC), at 1.7 million square feet, is the largest office campus in Florida. Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje codesigned the buildings of BRiC for IBM, the campus’s first owner. In the 1980s, IBM developed, manufactured, and mass-produced its first personal computer at BRiC.
For his brutalist design, with a façade repeating the same geometric pattern, Breuer took inspiration from the beauty he found in the repetitions of mass production. Designed for Florida’s tropical climate, the building features heavy concrete shading canopies over its glass windows to provide cooling and protection from the sun. The design also provides protection against hurricane damage such as floods.
After purchasing BRiC in 2018, the building’s current owner, CP Group, has been transforming it from a mostly empty office building into a thriving tech campus. Added amenities include restaurants, art galleries, and coffee shops. CP Group also is in the process of rezoning from a light research and industrial park to a planned mobility development, which will expand BRiC to include office, retail, hospitality, and residential. Additionally, CP Group is pursuing a master plan to add retail, townhomes, and an amphitheater—turning the campus into a town center.
Architecture firm CallisonRTKL has used a phased strategy to provide flexibility around the existing tenants and day-to-day operations while pursuing a ground-up enhancement. CallisonRTKL’s work includes the following:
- Increasing the allowable floor area ratio from four to six and upping the maximum allowable development by 1,123,850 square feet
- Reducing the setbacks from 50 feet to 20 feet
- Standardizing office planning metrics
- Scaling the amenities, landscaping, and infrastructure in tandem with the development’s phases
On the Building Team:
Owner and developer: CP Group
Design architects: Marcel Breuer and Robert F. Gatje
Architect of record: CallisonRTKL
Structural engineer: Jezerinac Group
Related Stories
Game Changers | Feb 4, 2016
GAME CHANGERS: 6 projects that rewrite the rules of commercial design and construction
BD+C’s inaugural Game Changers report highlights today’s pacesetting projects, from a prefab high-rise in China to a breakthrough research lab in the Midwest.
Mixed-Use | Jan 25, 2016
SOM unveils renderings of dual-tower Manhattan West development
The five million-sf project includes two office towers, a residential tower, retail space, and a new public square.
Office Buildings | Jan 21, 2016
Nike reveals design, first images of planned 3.2 million-sf expansion to its world headquarters
The expansion looks to combine design elements inspired by human movement, speed, and the strength and energy of competition.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Office Buildings | Jan 14, 2016
JLL: Slowdown not expected for office market
The booming sector had an occupancy growth rate 1.3 times that of new supply in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Office Buildings | Jan 11, 2016
Spec for tech: Designing for the creative class
The new work environment, settings which blur the line between work and life, is inspired by cities and the attributes that all great urban environments share, writes Ben Tranel of Gensler.
Office Buildings | Jan 6, 2016
4 tips for creating flow in a multi-level workspace
Successful workplaces enable a clear progression of ideas and people, which can be challenging for workplaces that occupy multiple levels. Perkins+Will's Sarah Stanford found some strategies that have proven successful.
Office Buildings | Dec 23, 2015
Good design alone won’t eradicate mindless meetings
Gensler's Johnathan Sandler discusses efficient alternatives to dull, wasteful workplace meetings.
Office Buildings | Dec 17, 2015
John Buck Company to develop CNA’s Chicago headquarters
The 35-story building will have plenty of column-free space.
Office Buildings | Dec 9, 2015
HOK collaborates with IFMA on new workplace strategy research report
Report cites work-life balance as the top reason for implementing “distributed work” strategies.
