In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly everything in the building is touchless. For example, the existing front entry door and all door locks were modified by the Clune Construction team to be opened by card readers on each employee’s mobile phone. If a phone with the card reader is in close proximity, doors will automatically unlock. In addition, the front entry door automatically opens and closes to avoid viral spread.
Because GoodRx’s headquarters was once a pen manufacturing facility, there was a residual concentration of ink in the surrounding soil and groundwater. To alleviate this, the development team installed a Vapor Mitigation System (VMS) to keep vapor from entering the building. During construction, the Clune Construction crew worked closely with the project’s environmental and health consulting company to protect the VMS system, keeping the system fully operational at all times and ensuring everyone’s safety.
Finally, the building’s rooftop HVAC features UVC equipment that sanitizes incoming forced air, cleaning 99.9 percent of harmful bacteria.
A VISION COMES TO LIFE
One of the major features of the GoodRx headquarters was also a major challenge. The installation of the structural steel that supports the library, three interconnecting stairs, mezzanine and executive offices was identified as a critical focus from the beginning of the schedule. The team removed the building’s existing glass storefront, which is more than 15-feet high by 10-feet wide, to move the pieces of steel into the space.
The team sourced 75 percent of the furniture for the headquarters locally. In addition, 98 percent of all items used in the headquarters came from suppliers within a 30-mile radius. In response to COVID-19 impacts on sourcing materials, the team employed local designers and fabricators to provide most materials, which was a win-win for the team and community. [Learn more about how the pandemic affected this project by reading “Pandemic in Play”, below.]
One of the most unique parts of the project was the installation of the bar within the speakeasy. St. Mungo’s Bar was designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in the early 1900s for the St. Mungo Vintners Pub in Glasgow, Scotland. When the pub closed in 1975, the bar was purchased and shipped to California, where it was stored in a warehouse for more than 40 years.
The bar is made of solid, heavy wood and required 10 workers to gently carry it to GoodRx’s speakeasy. The original bar, countertop, wood panels, brass work and even stained-glass windows were carefully installed by the construction team and are now the feature of the beautifully designed speakeasy.
The complex nature of the Good Rx project meant constant collaboration between all members of the design and construction teams. The end result was a new highly collaborative headquarters that has transformed GoodRx into a welcoming and wellness-focused space. GoodRx employees love coming into the office and appreciate the safe and natural environment the design and construction team created together.
Pandemic in Play
GoodRx’s headquarters opened in May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of Centers for Disease Control and OSHA guidelines, it was a challenge to complete the project on a condensed 22-week timeline with fewer subcontractors onsite. General Contractor Clune Construction incorporated longer working hours and Saturdays into the schedule to make up for the limited capacity and social distancing. To provide additional safety to trade partners, Clune Construction contracted a full-time licensed vocational nurse to screen for COVID before anyone entered the building.
The pandemic also led to the closing of manufacturing facilities and delays at the Port of Los Angeles. This resulted in delays in material delivery to the project. To keep the project moving, several installations were performed out of sequence based on material that was available while still meeting the design intent of the project. For example, delivery of the cable tray that runs the electrical cords throughout the building was delayed for two months. To maintain the schedule, the construction team installed the infrastructure before the cable trays arrived. Upon arrival, the team worked seven days a week to ensure the installation of the cable trays was performed on schedule.
Retrofit Team
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Clune Construction
ARCHITECT: RIOS
PROJECT MANAGER: AMA Project Management
MILLWORKER: Artcrafters Cabinets Inc.
STRUCTURAL STEEL SUBCONTRACTOR: Unicon Group, (818) 505-9275
ELECTRICIAN: Nazzareno Electric
Materials
CUSTOM ACOUSTICAL CEILING PANEL: TURF and USG
ACOUSTICAL CEILING TILE: Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions
ACOUSTICAL WALL PANELS: Zintra and Spinneybeck
CARPET TILE: Shaw Contract
WALK-OFF MAT: Milliken
SDT AND VCT FLOORING: Armstrong Flooring Inc.
CORK FLOOR TILE AND WALL TILE: Capri Collections
WRITABLE WALL FILM: Peer Hatch
PAINT: Dunn-Edwards Paints
SPEAKEASY PRINTED WALLPAPER: Innovations
PLASTIC LAMINATE PANEL: Formica
FRP WALL PANEL: Glasteel
SOLID SURFACE: Caesarstone
TILE: Fred + Cathy, Daltile and Clé Tile
METAL WIRE MESH: McNichols
DRAPERIES: KM Fabrics
ENGINEERED HARDWOOD: Duchateau
CONTAINER IRRIGATION SYSTEM: Tournesol
MOBILE ACCESS CONTROL: Openpath
AUTOMATIC DOOR OPENERS: Horton Automatics
UVC SYSTEM: Steril-Aire
SLIDING GLASS DOOR: Kawneer