1st Place, Whole Building
The 2-story atrium lobby of the Broadway Tower—a 21-story office building constructed in 1975 that occupies an entire city block in downtown St. Louis—used to be a dark, outdated banking center with waiting areas and a wall of teller windows. A recent renovation has transformed it into a light-filled, high-tech gathering space designed for today’s workers.
After acquiring the largely vacant building in 2020, Larson Capital Management invested $16 million to revitalize the atrium and surrounding site. The company tapped Trivers, a St. Louis architecture, planning urban design and interiors firm—and longtime Broadway Tower tenant—to make interior and exterior upgrades to the building’s atrium and the surrounding plazas. Known for its thoughtful renovation and adaptive-reuse projects, Trivers and the design team set out to reposition the structure as a premier office building destination.
DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE OF WORK
By the time planning for the Broadway Tower redesign began, the COVID-19 pandemic had already upended the way many Americans work. The number of people primarily working from home tripled between 2019 and 2021, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The sudden shift to remote work prompted many organizations to rethink the importance of having physical space for their employees. In the wake of this uncertainty, it became imperative for Larson Capital Management, Trivers and the design team to create an environment that would tempt both companies and workers to return to the office. Envisioning what employees in a post-pandemic world would want and need in their workplaces—flexibility, best-in-class technology, connection to the outdoors and opportunities for wellness—informed the exterior and interior renovations that were made.
ENTICING EXTERIOR
Trivers updated the atrium’s façade and site to make it more attractive from the street and increase its compatibility with nearby landmarks, like the Old Courthouse and Gateway Arch National Park. First, greenhouse-like projections were removed from the building to increase the amount of natural light flowing into the space. Obtrusive, granite egress staircases were also cleared away from the site’s south and southwest corners. Getting rid of the greenhouses and staircases added much-needed buffer space between the building and streets, creating room for outdoor areas for pedestrians and tenants, as well as more native plantings. To make the exterior even more inviting, contemporary and responsive to its context, the design team re-clad the atrium structure with a glazed terra-cotta rainscreen and new storefront glazing.
Before the renovation, just the building’s west entrance was accessible at grade level. The only way to reach the east entrance was by climbing a set of stairs. To improve accessibility for tenants and visitors, the design team regraded the entire east plaza with a wide, sloped walkway and terraced landscaping.
Additionally, new glass canopy structures were incorporated into the east and west entrances. The design team added frosted glass curtainwalls adjacent to the entries to enhance visibility from the inside and outside of the building, exposing the existing egress stairways to natural light and making them more inviting for everyday use. These also provide a dynamic illumination opportunity for the exterior with color-changing façade grazing lighting.
ACTIVATED INTERIOR
While the exterior is designed to attract people, the interior welcomes them and invites them to stay awhile. Huge, existing skylights and new windows not only provide enhanced urban views, but also an abundance of natural light, enabling people and interior plantings throughout the space to thrive. The atrium’s preserved moss wall—the largest in the region—can be admired from far away or up close thanks to five large seating areas directly below it. Updated lighting is functional and decorative and illuminates the building’s newfound energy from the inside out.
A new, terrazzo-clad monumental staircase connects the first and second floors and leads to numerous opportunities for social interactions. A hospitality space for events, like happy hours and company lunches, sits at the top of the staircase. A nearby door leads to a new, covered outdoor terrace with stunning views of the Old Courthouse and Arch. With a mind toward tenant wellness,
an indoor walking track wraps around the entire second floor of the atrium and leads to several best-in-class conference rooms and co-working lounges outfitted with the latest technology. A small conference room enclosed in orange glass is located directly beneath the staircase. In addition to offering a more intimate setting for meetings, it contributes an energizing pop of color.
Those who step onto the atrium’s gleaming white floors will find plenty of plush furniture for relaxation or socializing. Individual tables act as dining areas or desks and provide space for tenants who need to focus on their own work or have a casual meeting away from their office in the tower above. There also is an area to purchase fresh, grab-and-go food and drinks and room for
a new café with indoor and outdoor seating. This additional social and gathering space was made possible by moving the central security desk from the middle of the first floor to a location next to the elevator bays.
Like the outside, the inside responds to its context. Column finishes emulate the Old Courthouse next door, and natural materials, such as wood and stone, as well as the textiles’ nature-inspired color palette, complement the atrium’s indoor and outdoor features.
Attention to equity and accessibility completes the interior transformation. All-gender restrooms were added, and elevators on the east and west sides of the building were updated for improved visibility.
WORTHWHILE INVESTMENT
The renovations were finished in late 2022, but they have already started to pay off for Larson Capital Management. Urban redevelopment innovators McCormack Baron Salazar recently moved into the building after years occupying another space only a few blocks away. As a longtime client, McCormack Baron Salazar entrusted Trivers with the design of its new 45,000-square-foot corporate office, now located on the first and second floors of the tower with direct access to the atrium’s new amenities, which helped attract the firm to the building. Attention to sustainability, budget and design make its workspace an exceptional example of what now is possible within the reimagined Broadway Tower.
PHOTOS: Sam Fentress unless otherwise noted
Retrofit Team
METAMORPHOSIS AWARD WINNER and ARCHITECT: Trivers
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Paric
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: KPFF Consulting Engineers
LIGHTING DESIGNER: Reed Burkett Lighting Design
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Arbolope Studio
Materials
EXTERIOR
TERRA COTTA: NBK
EXTERIOR WOOD CEILINGS/PANELS: Parklex Prodema
DECORATIVE METAL: Parasoliel
PAVERS: MBRICO
STOREFRONT AND CURTAINWALL SYSTEM: Tubelite
ENTRANCE CANOPIES: Kingspan Light + Air
INTERIOR
MONUMENTAL STAIR: Wausau Tile and Missouri Terrazzo
PRESERVED MOSS WALL AND PLANTINGS: Ambius
WOOD FLOORING AT STAIR PLATFORM: Teka Hardwood Flooring
WINDOW SHADES: Mecho
INTERIOR COLUMN WRAPS: Interlam
ORANGE GLASS: McGroryGlass
DEMOUNTABLE PARTITION SYSTEM, SECOND-FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOMS: V.I.A. with Casper Cloaking Technology from Steelcase
CARPET, INTERIOR WALKING TRACK: Shaw Floors
CARPET, CONFERENCE ROOMS: Milliken
WOOD FLOORS: Boardwalk Hardwood Floors
WOOD SLAT CEILING, SECURITY DESK: Certainteed
ACOUSTIC-TILE CEILINGS: USG