ProjectsNetflix Headquarters
Students
Course
CIV_ENV 385-3: Architectural Engineering & Design 3 - Advanced
Instructor(s)
Larry Booth (Booth Hansen), Scott Cyphers (Olson Kundig), Don Semple and Mark Sexton (Krueck Sexton Partners), Joy Meek (Wheeler Kearns Architects), and Tom Leslie
Project Overview
The Netflix Headquarters, located in Chicago’s Fulton Market, provides a midwest office building for the popular entertainment company, while introducing needed public space and amenities to the neighborhood. Responding to the shape of the site as well as maximizing the views towards the downtown skyline, the building takes the shape of a parallelogram, with triangular setbacks. These create outdoor spaces which also face the skyline. The shape in conjunction with the use of a 20 foot by 30 foot grid maximizes column free space for office plans. Each office floor mixes private and public spaces throughout the large spaces, allowing for both collaboration as well as independent work. Office floors also include amenities such as kitchens and a two story central space, both to incentivize people to come to the office and to create opportunities for people to run into each other. Along with that there’s a cafeteria floor and a gym floor, both attached to outdoor terraces
The high-rise building utilizes timber construction for sustainability reasons. The first floor of the building houses a grocery store, as there is a severe lack in the area. Along with this there’s a small parking lot on top of which is a pedestrian friendly public green path, inspired by the Highline in New York. It would serve as a connection point between the proposed Metra stop on the site’s west end and the south-east end of Fulton Market. From this green area visitors can also enter the public food market on the second floor. Lastly, the building’s North and South facades are clad with perforated metal screens with different porosities in response to varying levels of sun exposure. The cladding design is inspired by the colorful stripes of Netflix’s intro screen. All in all, Netflix Headquarters seeks to bring people back into in-person offices, creates needed spaces for public use, while emphasizing sustainability.