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Designing for radically different industries to share a building that was never meant to house any of them.
“By relocating Echo Energy from the suburbs and adapting a building that was designed for very different uses, we’re making a significant investment in—and commitment to—downtown Oklahoma City,” said Echo Global founder Christian Kanady. “At first, we thought we would need to design a new building for Echo’s permanent home. But when we toured this building, we loved its idiosyncratic quality and recognized its untapped value. This is actually very similar to how we operate, so the project has a real resonance for us.”
The design capitalizes on the distinctive features of the building. The original spaces provided unique opportunities for adaptive innovation. High-bay gymnasiums and athletic courts are converted into airy offices that accommodate up to 150+ employees on two interconnected floors. The 20,000-square-foot project weaves tactile, natural materials together with the existing steel trusses, exposed ductwork, and mechanical systems conduits, highlighting the visual contradictions within the structure and giving the headquarters a distinct character.
A striking composition of stacked and cantilevered glass volumes, the existing 10-story, 80,000-square-foot building was part of a larger urban redevelopment project that was led by Aaron Young—partner at Northwest Studio—while at New York-based Rogers Partners Architects + Urban Designers, who designed the building. Completed in 2015, the redevelopment project garnered eight local, state, regional, and national design awards, including the 2012 AIA National Award for Regional and Urban Design.