At more than 300,000 square feet, how could the warehouse addition be least conspicuous? Ehrlich's office tailored each facade to respond, modestly, to interior functions. On the west side, a low Cor-Ten steel canopy shelters the entry and break room, while a softscape of native grasses obscures the building's bulk.
On the eastern side of the warehouse's north façade, a 70-foot-wide Cor-Ten steel frame projects slightly away from the building.
Tilt-up concrete, installed in panels 30 feet wide by 45 feet high, clads the south façade. Variations in the formwork give texture to the long expanse and make a design element out of a lowly fire exit.
From inside, it offers a panorama of the mountains in the distance, as with the clear glass used on the west side.
The architects wanted to give employees a view of nature-even when they're unloading boxes.
A patio with drought-resistant plantings marks the entry from the parking lot, which is bioswaled so that runo. from the asphalt percolates slowly back into the ground rather than flooding the storm drains.
Patterned in alternating bands of stained and plain concrete, this raised pedestrian walkway leads employees safely to break rooms on the west and east sides of the warehouse.
Integration between landscape design and architecture enhances a staff-friendly environment. Timber bamboo, fishtail palms, and other low-light-tolerant plants form gardens along the nearly 800-foot-long Main Street.
